


Lips of an Angel

by Redhead17x



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Doctor Clarke, Drama, F/M, Flashbacks, Humor, Mafia AU, Organized Crime, Original Character(s), Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-06 06:19:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 302,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4211304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redhead17x/pseuds/Redhead17x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy Blake lives in a dark world... A world of blood, death, and crime. To the outside world he's either a cold hearted business man or a ruthless Underboss, an indestructible force to be reckoned with, but alone, he grapples with the demons that haunt him. He craves the warmth and light that only an angel can give, but angels don't exist... Or do they? [Modern Mafia AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone. Okay, so this is my first attempt at writing, and I am so excited to see what you all think. Please review and let me know what you liked/disliked and if you'd like more. Also, I am a huge fan of constructive criticism and so it is very welcome, but just don't be mean about it... Please and thank-you :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters and my plot.

**Lips of an Angel- Prologue**

Aurora Blake had seen some pretty amazing, beautiful things in her life, but nothing held a candle to the sight right beside her. Her sweet, innocent son was fast asleep curled up under his blanket in the passenger seat of their car.

Bellamy Alexander Blake was her pride and joy. He had a heart of gold and a smile that could light up even the darkest of days. He was kind, compassionate, incredibly smart, and loved to learn. He never complained when they had to constantly move around. He never judged her for the decisions she made or for not giving him a normal life. He was understanding and trusted her implicitly to make the best, and right decisions for them. To her, he was the most incredible eight-year-old in the world, and so unbelievably special. The little boy was her heart.

While he looked almost exactly like his father with his jet black, curly hair and facial features, he had Aurora's warm amber-brown eyes, and her spirit.

As she focused back on the road, Aurora thought of the events that had led her to where she was today…

_At 24, Aurora had a promising future. She was two years away from getting her Doctorate of Medicine (MD) from New York Medical College and becoming a doctor to help those in need. She had no other family other than a grandmother who lived in Italy._

_One night, while out clubbing with her best friend Abby and some of her classmates, she met Damian Collins, a 28-year-old club owner. He was smart and attractive and took a special interest in Aurora._

_Over the span of several months, they participated in a secret love affair where he romanced and seduced her. Damian convinced her to keep it a secret because he didn't want the paparazzi to harass her for dating a wealthy club owner… Or so he said. The only person who knew of the relationship was Marcus Kane, Damian's closest and most trusted friend. Marcus came to be close friends with Aurora as well and became like an older brother to her._

_They both fell madly in love with the other, only to have him cut contact with her and disappear. She called and left messages and voicemails, for both Damian and Marcus that were never returned. Weeks later, while still suffering from a broken heart, she discovered that she was pregnant. After much deliberation, she chose to keep and raise the baby, the only piece of her beloved Damian that she had left. She decided to leave one last voicemail letting him know of the pregnancy and her decision to raise the child alone._

_The very next day, while sitting in the common room with friends, a news special came on the television. It discussed the famous Collins Crime Family. The Family had recently suffered a tragedy when the head of the Family, a man by the name of Romero "Lucky" Collins, died from a massive stroke. He had suffered for months with various health complications, and his heart couldn't take the strain. His son, Damian "The Devil" Collins, was next in line to take over. The news special discussed the various crimes the Family was suspected of committing including murder, money laundering, arms trafficking, racketeering and drug trafficking. It was predicted that Damian would take over, but not right away. It was reported that to be recognized as the head of the Family, he needed to have a wife. It was speculated that he would marry Vanessa De Luca in an arraigned marriage set up for him by his father before he died._

_Fearful of what would happen to her and her child if she stayed, and heartbroken to have been deceived and lied to by the one person she loved most in the world, Aurora grabbed all the money she could from her bank account, packed a bag in the middle of the night, and ran. She didn't contact anyone from her old life that could trace back to her, not even her dearest friend Abby. She was constantly on the move for months, until she found a quaint little town in south Alabama and settled down under a false name. She found out she was having a little boy and thus when the Blake baby was born, he was given the name Bellamy Alexander Blake._

_Bellamy was six months old when Marcus, who had been promoted as Damian's new consigliere (adviser) when he took over the family, contacted her to let her know Damian had found her, and was on his way to get her and the child. Damian had procrastinated his wedding to Vanessa for as long as he could, before being forced into it by his father's old adviser two months previously. He didn't even know if he had a son or a daughter. He longed for the chance to hold his child and his lover in his embrace, but alas it was not meant to be._

_Aurora ran again and decided to hide Bellamy for as long as she was able to and as far away from Damian as possible, but she kept limited contact with Marcus to assure him of their well-being, and update him on Bellamy's development. She swore Marcus to secrecy, and thus he never told Damian about having contact with Aurora._

_They never stayed more than six months in the same town. It was often less, if Aurora felt she was being watched or that Damian was close. They stayed in run down houses and had very few possessions, while she was saving money to afford transportation to the Italy, where her grandmother still lived._

_She taught Bellamy the art of disguise and hiding, as well as Italian and Spanish when he was very young. By the time he was six, Bellamy could find an escape route out of almost anywhere. She taught him reading, writing, arithmetic, and history…_

_He was taught about his mother's ancestral family from Italy, and he was fascinated by the stories of his French great-grandfather, Bellamy, who fell in love with his Italian great grandmother, Agnese, during World War 2, and how he moved to Italy to be with her. They had a beautiful little girl named Alassandra, who grew up, moved to America and married a Filipino man. They had Aurora and opened a small pizzeria in New York City because of Alassandra’s love of cooking, that made genuine Italian pizza. They died in a car accident when Aurora was 19. She sold their business to afford medical school. The same year her parents died, her grandfather contracted a severe case of pneumonia, didn't have a strong enough immune system to fight it off, and died. The only person she had left was her grandmother._

_Although Bellamy had never met her, she was an important person in his life. He called her his Bisnonna Aggy. Aurora and Bellamy kept in regular contact with her and looked forward to her calls. Agnese loved her great-grandson dearly, and longed to meet him, but knew she would probably never get the chance to._

_When he got to be about seven or so, Aurora told Bellamy about his father. She told him as much as she knew about the life Damian was involved in, and that his father wasn't a bad man. Although she still loved Damian, she didn't want Bellamy to grow up in that type of life or for herself to become Damian's mistress. She had Bellamy memorize a number to call "Uncle Marcus" if something ever happened to her because he'd be the only one able to protect him._

She was drawn out of her musings by her son's sleepy voice.

"Where are we Momma?"

"We are about an hour and a half away from Seattle. We're fixing to pass through Washington state's capitol, Olympia."

"That's a cool name for a city… It sounds like the Greek home of the gods, Mt. Olympus. What's in Washington again?” he asked sheepishly. This would be the third time she was explaining her reasoning to him.

"Remember how I said I was in medical school?" He nodded yes. "Well, I've gotten into contact with my old friend Abby, and she wants to meet you. She has a little girl about two or three years younger than you. I was thinking we could stay in Seattle a little longer than we normally would- maybe for a year or two. Longer, if everything stays quiet. What do you think sweet boy,” she asked.

Bellamy nodded. "I would really like that momma. Do you think I could go to school?" He asked excitedly.

It broke Aurora's heart that he even had to ask that. She had longed to give him a normal life, but up until that point, it hadn't been possible. She hoped that by the time Damian found her again, because he would eventually find her, he always did, she would have enough money saved for her and Bellamy to leave the country and go to Italy.

She felt safe deciding to live in Seattle because from what she had gathered from her research, Seattle was in territory owned by another mafia run by the Griffin Crime Family. She hoped that this would prevent Damian from coming for her, and she was sure she'd be grateful to have Abby's familiar face there.

Abigail Scott had been Aurora's best friend since the beginning of high school up until Aurora disappeared. She took a chance calling Abby's old number a couple of days ago and was surprised when Abby picked up. She learned that Abby had graduated, moved to the west coast, married the love of her life, and had a little girl. She asked Aurora what had happened, and where she was living. She told Abby a little summary about falling in with the wrong crowd, and having to continuously be on the run to protect her son. Abby was completely understanding and begged Aurora to come see her and settle for a while in Seattle where she and her family lived. Aurora agreed, and they said their good-bye's, not knowing that Aurora would never make it to Seattle to see her long lost friend.

Aurora and Abby never exchanged the names of their children, just the genders and ages. Aurora didn't even know what Abby's last name had changed to after she got married.

After about 20 minute or so, Bellamy asked if they could stop to get something to snack on. Aurora agreed, and they stopped at a little convenience store on the outskirts of Olympia.

They both climbed out of the car and walked into the store, a little bell above the door alerting the male cashier, who looked to be in his mid-40's, to their presence. His nametag read 'Mike'. He looked up from his newspaper and he offered a genuine smile to the young woman and her little boy.

"Hi there. Can I help you find something,” he asked politely.

Bellamy started to squirm at Aurora's side. She looked down at him and immediately knew what was needed.

"Yes sir, do you have a bathroom?" She asked.

He pointed one out to her in the back of the store. She thanked him and rushed her son to the back, in the direction that cashier pointed, making Mike chuckle quietly at how fast they walked away. He went back to reading his paper. A minute or two later, the doorbell jingled again alerting him to another customer. He quickly finished reading the paragraph he was in the middle of, and looked up. What he saw caused his heart to stop in his chest, and then start up again pounding furiously.

In front of him was a young man no older than 19 or 20, holding a pistol. He looked like he was strung out on drugs. He was pale, sweaty, and twitchy, with tremors running through the hand that was holding the gun.

"Don't make any s-sudden moves! I-I need you t-to put all the money in-in a bag." He stammered out.

Mike slowly began to do as the man directed, praying the whole time that the woman and her son didn't come out of the back. His prayers went unanswered, because not 30 seconds later, they walked around the corner. Everything after that happened so suddenly.

The man was startled by the little boy's chattering- thinking he and the cashier were the only ones in the store. He turned and fired the gun twice. The first bullet missed, but the second hit the woman in the stomach. While the robber had his back turned, Mike quickly hit the emergency button, and grabbed a baseball bat he kept behind the counter. He quickly knocked the guy over the head. The robber dropped to the ground unconscious. Mike came around the corner and kicked the gun away from his hand. He heard the sound of the sirens far off in the distance.

Aurora didn't know what hit her. One minute she was listening to her sweet child chattering away about a story he had read about a monster and a princess, and the next she heard two loud bangs and pain ripped through her abdomen. She grabbed her stomach, and pulled away looking down at the blood that coated her fingers. Bellamy was standing beside her, his whole body shaking in what she assumed was fear. She fell to her knees, the blood still gushing from the wound. Bellamy became frightened by the amount of blood, begged her not to die and to just stay with him. She fell onto her back, and Bellamy scrambled to kneel beside her clutching her hand as though his life depended on it.

She felt so cold. Slowly her body began to numb, and Aurora knew she wasn't going to make it. She looked at her son and said, "You know what to do. Call Uncle Marcus." Bellamy began to shake his head in denial, but before he could speak, she spoke.

Choking up blood, her last words to her son were, "I love you so much, my sweet boy. You have been my shining light in a world full of darkness. Never lose your light. If you do… You find it, and keep it. Never let it go. I will be watching over you, I promise."

With that, her hand went slack in his much smaller ones and her eyes closed for the last time. Bellamy, with silent tears streaming down his face, laid her hand down until it rested on her chest, leaned over and kissed her forehead before three police officers burst into the store, took in the heart wrenching scene in front of them, and solemnly got to work.

One officer checked for Aurora's pulse and when he didn't find one, he asked the cashier what happened. The other began making calls for backup, a forensics unit and a coroner, and the last one handcuffed the still unconscious robber.

Bellamy was still kneeling beside his mother's body when he felt hands clutching his shoulders, pulling him to his feet. An officer knelt down to his level and studied the boy's face. His older wrinkled face softened when he took in the boy's devastated features.

"Come on kid, let's get you out of here." He stated quietly. He loaded the child into the front of the squad car, and began to drive away from the crime scene.

Bellamy's tears began to flow in earnest, and his heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to beat its way out of his chest. With the way Bellamy was feeling, it probably would have hurt less. He knew what he had to do, he just dreaded actually having to do it.

On the drive to the precinct, Bellamy contemplated what to say to a man whom he had never met, but was his sole hope to escape a life of crushing loneliness, which is what began to settle over him like a thick blanket making it hard for him to breathe.

Walking into the precinct, the officer on duty asked him his name and he replied "Bellamy. Bellamy Blake. Am I allowed a phone call?"

After leading him to a desk with a phone, Bellamy sat down and dialed the number he'd had memorized for years.

"Kane." A gruff sounding voice answered the phone.

"Hello Uncle Marcus, this is Bellamy Blake."

"Bellamy? Son, are you okay? Where's your mom?" Kane asked.

"She's gone… She made me promise to call you if something ever happened to her. She said you'd help me… protect me." Bellamy sniffled into the phone.

"Where are you? Are you safe?" Kane's frantic voice asked amidst shuffling and murmured curses.

"I'm in Olympia, Washington. I guess I'm safe. I'm in a police station." Bellamy stated in a monotonous tone, looking around the shabby outdated looking precinct.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in 8 hours. Don't leave, and don't talk to nobody. You understand?" Marcus demanded.

"Yes sir." The boy replied and hung up the phone.

The officer escorted him to a bathroom and instructed him on how to put his clothes in a bag so they could be tagged as evidence. He was handed a pair of oversized sweat pants, a T-Shirt, and a jacket. He was allowed to keep his shoes. Bellamy was told he could take a shower to wash the blood off. After the shower, Bellamy cried himself to sleep on one of the overnight beds that off-duty cops used.

He was woken by the sound of yelling sometime later. Walking out of the room into the bullpen, Bellamy noticed a well-dressed, but haggard looking man in an expensive suit yelling at a handful of officers for his nephew. Once he saw Bellamy he quickly shoved past them, and walked over to him, kneeling in front of him. The man had short brown hair with green concern filled eyes Bellamy noticed as the man quietly checked the boy over for any visible injuries, not realizing the only injury the child had sustained was a wounded heart.

"Do you know who I am," he asked the boy in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I assume you're 'Uncle' Marcus…" He replied with a haunted look in his eye that scared the older man.

"You would be right. Play along until we get out of here, understand son?" He questioned.

He got a firm head nod in response.

After sifting through various foraged documents for hours, Marcus was able to prove he was Bellamy's Uncle, and thus allowed to take Bellamy with him. Kane made arraignments to have Aurora's body shipped to New York so she could be buried beside her parents, and have all of her personal items put in storage. He paid off everyone he had to in order to erase any trace of Bellamy in the media or in the case as a witness, so he didn't have to testify. When Aurora's death was reported, Bellamy was never mentioned… It was almost as if he died too.

Kane came upon a huge dilemma. He knew he could not hide the child with Damien breathing down his neck, demanding to know why Kane had left in the middle of the night the way he did. He also knew he would have to tell Damian about being in contact with Aurora, and knowing her whereabouts for the last seven and a half years, but he didn't want to dishonor Aurora's wish to keep Bellamy away from Damian. He reluctantly decided he had no choice but to take Bellamy home with him to New York City.

So two days after his mother's death, Bellamy was on a private jet headed to New York City. In the past days he had gradually become more and more unresponsive to everyone. He hardly ate or drank anything, much less slept. The boy began to withdraw into himself. It didn't deter Marcus from talking to him though about everything he could think of, trying to snap the child out of it. Bellamy became pale where his skin was once a rich tan, his once big brown eyes with flecks of gold, were now just vacant, glassy orbs, and his clothes seemed to hang off him like rags due to the weight he had lost.

After a long 8-hour flight, the plane touched down and Bellamy was loaded into a massive SUV. He didn't know where he was being taken all he knew was that he wanted to be alone. About 40 minutes later the SUV pulled up to a gate. After the driver typed in a code on the keypad, the gates swung open revealing a driveway that lead to the nicest house Bellamy had ever seen. Marcus ushered him out of the SUV and up to the front door. He rang the doorbell, and a minute later the door swung open revealing a surprised maid.

"Mr. Kane… Mr. Collins is having dinner with his mother, wife and son. Shall I fetch them for you?" she asked in a heavy Italian accent as she ushered them into the giant foyer.

"Yes please, Bianca. Tell him it’s an important matter that he'll wish to be informed of immediately." He stated firmly, but kindly. She scampered off to get him.

"You took me to see Damian." A small voice beside him said. It wasn’t a question.

Kane turned quickly, shocked to hear the boy speak after not having said a word since the police station in Olympia, and knelt on one knee in front of the boy. He was further astounded to hear the child speak about Damian when he had assumed Aurora never told her child about his father.

"Yes." Kane says hesitantly. "Do you know who he is in relation to you?"

"Yeah." Came the quiet reply. He was cut off from saying anything else by the sound of several pairs of expensive leather shoes and high heels walking on the marble flooring.

"Marcus… What is the meaning of…?" Damian stopped speaking, seeing the thin, frail looking dark-haired child standing in front of his kneeling friend with his head and eyes lowered.

Marcus stood and faced Damian.

"I've got something important to tell you. Do you want to do this here, or privately in your office?" He questioned, nodding to the two women behind Damian.

"What? Marcus, what in the world is going…?" He stopped and gasped looking at the child who had raised his head and was peering at Damian with big chocolate-brown, tortured eyes set in a handsome little face so like his own. He felt his gut clench. He had seen those eyes before… Just on the beautiful face of his Aurora. He swiftly walked over to the boy and clutched his shoulders, bending down in a crouch to study his face better. He felt a moment of joy before reality crashed down and he realized there was someone missing. He knew his Aurora would never leave her child, or let someone take him unless it was over her dead body. He dropped his hands like he had been burned.

"No…" He whispered in an anguished tone. He decided that there was no possible way his vibrant Aurora could be dead, therefore his child, be it boy or girl, had to still be out there with her. There was no way this child before him could be his. He was an imposter. His hands began to shake with rage.

Damien's mother, Amelia, came forward and put a soothing, calming hand on her son's shoulder seeing his distress.

 _"He's not mine."_ He said ardently in Italian over his shoulder. The little boy jerked back, his eyes becoming cold, understanding what the older man said perfectly.

 _"You should watch what you say in front of people you don't know, old man."_ The little boy spat venomously back at the man with black hair and dark blue eyes. Bellamy didn't know who this man thought he was to say something like that.

Damian gaped at the child who had just reprimanded him in perfect Italian.

Amelia grinned at the boy and said, "Who taught you Italian _Tesoro_ (treasure)?"

"My mother, Aurora." He said looking at the sweet older lady. Damian seemed to pale further as he stood up.

"Kane" he said, "You have some explaining to do. My office. Now." Both men turned and walked off down the hallway, disappearing through a door that Bellamy assumed was the office. Minutes passed by, and shouting and yelling could be heard through the door, echoing down the hall.

"Hello my darling, my name is Amelia. I'm your grandmother. You can call me Nonni, yes?" The kind woman asked him coming to stand in front of him after a few minutes. She had dark brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. Her sweetheart face made Bellamy like her immediately, so he nodded shyly.

A huff behind her drew his attention to a tall fierce looking woman with light brown hair and grey eyes and a sour expression on her face. Bellamy had a bad feeling about her. Clutching to her leg was a little boy no older than seven, with shaggy brown hair and curious dark blue eyes.

"What are you talking about Amelia?" The woman asked exasperatedly, as though the older woman had lost her mind.

Bellamy noticed a dark look flash across Amelia's face, before it turned into a devious smile. She quickly gave Bellamy a sly wink, making his lips twitch into a grin… The first since his mother’s untimely death only a few short days ago.

"Why Vanessa… You didn't know? This is my wonderful grandson, Bellamy." She said shocking the room, Bellamy included. He didn't know how she knew his name. At seeing his bewildered face she explained to him. "Your 'Uncle Marcus' as you call him, told me all about you _mi Amore_ (my love). I have been waiting a very long time to meet you."

Behind her, Vanessa spluttered angrily and took a step forward. She was stopped by the sound of a door down the hall opening and footsteps coming closer. Marcus and Damian both appeared. Damian's red bloodshot eyes gave away that tears had been shed.

Marcus had told him everything… The phone calls to Aurora, the trips he took to go see them without Aurora knowing he was there, getting the phone call from Bellamy, traveling to get him, getting custody of him as his 'Uncle' and his plan to protect him from the trial and media. He’d also included all the information he had gathered about Bellamy over the years.

Even after hearing all that, Damian still wanted to deny that the child was his. It wasn't until Marcus handed over the secret DNA test he'd had done two days ago along with several pictures of Aurora and Bellamy that Damian accepted the truth. His beautiful vibrant Aurora was just… gone. He had been so terribly in love with her that for the longest time his whole world seemed to be filled with bleak gray without her there to show him the color in life. With Vanessa, he saw flickers of color but she was no Aurora, and she never would be. He did love his wife in his own way, it was just not the all-consuming love he'd felt for Aurora.

Looking at the DNA test in his hand, Damian felt his reservations about the child fly out the window. Bellamy was his last connection to his precious Aurora. He had the over whelming urge to hold his child, tell him how much he loved him, and never let him go, that he quickly stood up walking out of the room to get to his little boy.

When Vanessa saw her husband, she walked forward as though to comfort him, but he waved her off, walking past her in Bellamy's direction. Amelia stepped out of the way of her advancing son.

Damian scooped the little boy up in his arms and held him tightly. It felt so unbelievably right to be able to hold his son for the first time. He had missed so much time with his beloved little boy, and he felt he had so many things to make up for- eight years' worth of things to make up to the child. He vowed right then and there to treasure and cherish his darling little son enough for both himself and Aurora.

When Damian had come into the room and picked him up, Bellamy had no idea what was about to happen or what to even do. Was he about to be thrown out? Should he kick and scream for help? Were they going to kill him? His mother told him what his father did for a living, and it was obvious that Damian's wife Vanessa would love nothing more than to kill him, with the glare she was sending him. Bellamy considered himself lucky that glares couldn't kill people because otherwise he'd be very dead with the force and intensity of her glare on him.

Bellamy was taken aback when Damian just held him tightly, and swayed back and forth whispering _"My only son- my one and only dear son”_ , over and over again in Italian.

The man who was so adamant that Bellamy wasn't 'his' was long gone, and in his place was the man Bellamy had heard all about from his mother. The thought that this was the man his mother had loved with all her heart and told stories about had Bellamy wrapping his arms around the older man. It was clear to Bellamy that this man had loved his mother just as much as he himself had.

Bellamy broke down in tears, sobbing, _"She's gone Daddy, she's really gone…"_ Damian clutched the weeping little boy tighter to his chest, as though he was trying to absorb the child's pain, with silent tears streaming down his face.

The two people were so wrapped up in their grief and pain they didn't notice Vanessa scoop she and Damian's son, Finn, up into her arms and walk up stairs to put him to bed fuming at her husband. She knew about Aurora and the mystery child he had with her, but she always thought she would never have to meet him or even have him be a part of her husband's life. She knew that this kid was going to be a huge pain in her ass. It was bad enough that she always felt she had to compete for Damian's love and attention with nothing but the mere memory of Aurora Blake, but now her darling little son was going to have to compete with this street rat for his father's affection. All she could hope for is that the little urchin had more of his mother in him than his father and ran away.

Downstairs, Bellamy had exhausted his little body with the emotional overload and the crying spell, and promptly fell asleep safe and warm in his father's arms. Marcus and Amelia followed him to his study where he sat down at his desk still holding the boy. He gazed lovingly at his face as he slept.

"He can't stay here." Marcus stated. Having Damian's illegitimate child live in his home with his wife and other son would be seen as extremely disrespectful.

"I know…" came Damian's reply.

"What are you going to do son?" Amelia asked.

Damian looked up at Marcus. "Marcus, you’ve been my closest friend for all my life. I know I can entrust you with the most important, precious thing in my whole world. Will you take him? I want to still be able to raise him and teach him and love him, and I can do all that if he lives with you. I want to know he's protected, and from what I understand you've already been doing that for most of his life. So will you?" He asked.

Marcus readily agreed. Damian continued to hold Bellamy the whole night. In the morning, Damian explained what was going to happen, and Bellamy understood. Honestly, Bellamy didn't want to live in that house with Damian's wife and son anyway, so he was kind of relieved.

He liked Marcus and had pretty much accepted him as his uncle. So from then on, Bellamy lived with Marcus Kane.

Kane raised him well, and treated him as a father would an adored son. Kane made sure Bellamy received the best education money could buy and that he wanted for nothing. Bellamy was a quick learner and thus was able to skip a couple of grades in school. He had a love for history and an ear for languages. By the time he graduated from college with his Bachelor's Degree in Business he could speak Italian, French, Russian, and Spanish all fluently. Both Damian and Marcus also rigorously trained Bellamy in the ways of the Family. By the time he was 13, Bellamy was an expert in munitions, a skilled forger, and well versed in various forms of torture as well as hand-to-hand combat.

All these skilled helped him to become one of the youngest and most feared Underbosses in the criminal underworld's history of existence.


	2. Regrets and Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! First off, thank you all so much for the awesome response I've been getting for this story. I am so overjoyed people are liking the story thus far, and I hope you all continue to stick with me. There is a time jump here... Bellamy is now 27. Happy reading :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 2- Regrets and Reflections**

As Bellamy stared out the massive wall of windows in his office, he didn’t notice the darkening New York City skyline. His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts about the gun shipment for the Russians he had coming in that night at the docks. Normally he would go and oversee the transfer, but not having slept in the past four days and having half a week of work still in front of him demanded he get some sleep instead of going to the buy. So he had called Damian to find someone to cover the deal going down at the warehouse at midnight… His father had said he was going to send Finn.

The past four days had been sheer hell. First was the chaos of finally closing a massive business deal for a huge steel plant in North Carolina that his company had been working on for months. The construction companies he had now had a domestic source to buy steel from. Blake Global Enterprises Inc. was the multi-billion-dollar land development conglomerate he had started when he was 23. It dealt mostly in acquiring and building on land, but Bellamy had amassed such an empire that his company encompassed architecture, construction, technology, and energy resource companies as well as a few other odds-and-ends companies, so he didn’t have to subcontract out to have work done often. Depending on what was built, Bellamy either sold or kept whatever was constructed, and thus is how he owned various other businesses such as clubs and restaurants…  It was a very solid, lucrative business that had made him an extremely wealthy man.

Then, on top of getting that excruciating deal for his legitimate business done, he’d had to step in and get involved with a turf war between two rival gangs before things got out of hand and there was innocent blood shed on the streets of New York from the fall out. The negotiation talks were supposed to be just between the two leaders and their seconds with Bellamy and some of his men present at a vacant office space in neutral territory. Of course they both didn’t listen and brought not just men, but guns too. Bellamy had not been amused or surprised. It was only after Bellamy’s men pulled their guns on them and were ready to empty their clips that the gang leaders decided to listen and send their men home. After that, the talks were peaceful and a resolution to their problem was found. Bellamy gave each of them a stern warning, that if he had to get involved again to prevent a gang war, they and their men were each going to get bullets between the eyes. He was one of the most feared Underbosses for the largest criminal organization on the east coast… Not their damn therapist. Then he sent them on their way. He didn’t need a swarm of feds sticking their noses in his business, where they don’t belong, all because of a turf war that could easily be avoided simply by talking… It was all Collin Family turf anyway, they just operated in it is all. By the time all of that had been cleared up, he still had a full day’s work to catch-up on in preparation for a majorly important mafia meeting next week.

Bellamy had always considered himself to be a cold, heartless person.

Growing up as the bastard son of a powerful mafia Don did that to a person. While he loved his father, uncle, grandmother, and his closest men, he had a constant fear that he would one day get them all killed like he did his sweet innocent mother. If had just waited another hour to ask for food, then his mother wouldn’t have been viciously snatched from him by a convenience store robbery gone wrong when he was eight years old.

This fear he has often led to him being incredibly ruthless and overly precautious with every move he made.  He was always thinking three moves ahead, assessing every potential threat, and how best to neutralize that threat. He was never afraid to put a bullet in a man’s head if he threatened the people he was close to. He never hesitated, because that was often the difference between life and death… Living and dying.

Bellamy hadn’t always been this way. In fact, he’d had every intention to have a normal life…

_Bellamy never intended to use his various mafia skills. He knew how much his mother had sacrificed to keep him away from that life, and he had no desire to throw away that sacrifice. Instead, he made plans for a future that, if his mother had still been alive, would have made her proud. But that all changed when he was 14. He was always so much more mature for his age, both physically and mentally. No one would guess just by looking at him he was 14. He looked and acted like a 17 year old._

_The man who shot and killed his mother, Cage Wallace, was released from prison on a technicality. The case was covered heavily by the media, and was broadcasted nationwide. Damian and Marcus worried about Bellamy’s reaction to having the man out of prison, and warned him not to do anything irrational, that they would take care of it, and tell him when the deed was done. The teen seemed fine, and he seemed to accept that they would do right by him._

_When in the presence of others, Bellamy appeared to be cool, calm and perfectly normal, but in private, he grappled with the overwhelming thirst of vengeance he felt, knowing that the man who ended his mother’s life was out there in the world, breathing, when his mother wasn’t. Bellamy knew that his sweet, kind, gentle mother would never want him to take revenge in her name. But as anger seeped into his bones, he was powerless to stop the bloodlust that accompanied it. When no action was taken to find Cage or make him pay for his crimes, Bellamy became more withdrawn and lost in his own thoughts as the months rolled on, and God help him, he began to plan._

_One night in the middle of the summer, a couple of months just shy of a year after Cage was released, 15-year-old Bellamy disappeared. He contacted no one and left no message or note… He just packed a bag with a few of his clothes, guns, and all the money he had saved, and vanished. His father, uncle, and grandmother had everyone they could think of on the lookout for him. Amelia was beside herself with worry and grief. She didn’t know if he was coming back, or what had set him off… All she knew was that he was alone. Damian and Marcus took comfort in the knowledge that he could take care of himself with the copious amounts of knowledge they had drilled into his head over the years._

_Meanwhile, Bellamy used the skills his mother taught him to disguise himself and hide from anyone looking for him while he was completing his mission. For a solid month, Bellamy hunted. He followed lead after lead as to where Cage could have been hiding out, and he finally tracked him down to Seattle, Washington… The irony of ending up there with the man who killed his mother, when that was the very destination he and his mother had been going on that fateful day was not lost on him, and it only served to make him angrier. It took him three days to get there and set up his base of operations in an old abandoned warehouse. He discovered Cage working as a drug dealer in one of the sleazier parts of town. He made sure to bide his time, stalking his prey, watching his routines, and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Two days later, that moment presented itself. Cage was doing a drug deal down by the docks. After the buyer had left, and Cage was alone, Bellamy crept up behind him and put him in a tight choke hold that cut off his air ways. When Cage was unconscious, Bellamy dragged him over to his own car and threw him in the trunk. He drove to the warehouse, unloaded the body, strapped him to a chair, and waited for him to wake up._

_When he did, he was immediately fearful, until he saw Bellamy was just a kid. Then he laughed._

_“Do you know who you’re messing with kid?” He choked out between fits of laughter._

_Bellamy picked up a knife and began to twirl it between his fingers._

_“Yeah,” He replied coldly looking Cage dead in the eye. “A dead man.”_

_The laughter immediately stopped and anxiousness seeped into his voice when he spoke again._

_“You’re planning to kill me? Why? What did I ever do to you? I don’t even know who you are.” He said in a confused voice._

_“My name is Bellamy Blake. You killed my mother in a convenience store robbery seven years ago, and for that, I am going to make you suffer the same pain that I am forced to endure every day because of your thoughtless actions, before I kill you.” He said in an emotionless hollow voice, before going and retrieving his tool kit._

_Bellamy was past the point of no return. All his life had had been understanding and a good follower, always following the rules. If he could no longer trust and rely on the American Justice System or the Mafia Family he was born into to do right by him when he constantly did as he was told and followed the rules, then Bellamy would do whatever the hell he wanted to do. He would do what he thought was right, and to hell with the consequences. He would rebel._

_Bellamy knew that what he was about to do, was going to be the start of his mafia initiation. He could no longer fight what was in his blood it seemed. The monster inside was chomping at the bit to be let loose from his pen. He was thirsty for blood. Torture was something Bellamy had been educated in, but never practiced. The killer in him was restrained, and the monster was set free._

_With every infliction of pain on the man who had caused him so much, Bellamy felt the final pieces of his innocence and light leave him and the numbing cold take its place. With every slash of his knife, more ice flooded his veins. When he was through, and the monster had his fill of blood, the killer came out. Cage had long ago started begging for death, and a bringer of death was what Bellamy would be. He decided to be merciful and put a bullet between his eyes. With the echo of the gunshot in his ears, Bellamy felt the ice claw its way through his chest and settle around his heart._

_Bellamy wanted to send a message to the mafia world that he was about to take by storm. He carved ‘_ _Il   Ribellarsi’ on Cage’s chest. The message he was trying to convey was simple... Go against me and death will follow._

_He left the body where it was, packed up his things, wiped everything down, and decided to go home._

_Bellamy went to a small diner right across the street from a hospital, and called to order a plane ticket. The plane wouldn’t be leaving ‘til 10 A.M. He had about five hours to kill, so he sat back in his booth and people watched. He saw a couple of police officers grabbing a cup of coffee while on shift and various nurses and doctors ordering snacks and caffeine either before their shift, or after. The ones just coming off shift were haggard looking with dark circles under their eyes, and the ones fixing to start their shifts were perky and alert. He noticed one older man with sandy blonde hair and crystal ice blue eyes, walk in to the establishment. He looked to be the same age as his father and uncle. He ordered a cup of coffee, scanned the place and zeroed in on Bellamy, before he started to walk over. As the man took a seat, he sipped his coffee and stared intently at Bellamy as though he was looking into the boy’s soul. Bellamy stared right back, unflinching._

_“So you’re him…” He stated quietly._

_“Nah, you must be mistaken… Have me confused with someone else perhaps? I’m a no one.” Bellamy shrugged coolly._

_The man chuckled. “Oh you’re him alright. I’ve heard a lot about you Bellamy Blake… Such modesty was not expected though. I’m Jake by the way. You left me quite the mess to clean up.”_

_Bellamy raised an eyebrow “Is that so?” He asked lightly._

_“Very much so. I’ve been waiting for you to show up, kid.” He grinned. “You see, I had this problem with a recently released from prison drug dealer who was using too much product and not selling enough, and I was getting ready to have him taken out in an innocent drug deal gone wrong, but then I saw why he was put in prison, and decided to wait and see who came for him. If your father or uncle sent someone, it would have been a statement that said you really did want nothing to do with the life, but, well, you’re here, so I guess that means I’ll be hearing more about you. I just didn’t expect such a gruesome mess.” He smirked. It was obvious to Bellamy that Jake was genuine in his intentions, and he wasn’t looking to blackmail or frame him._

_“Don’t worry, I covered my tracks well. No DNA or finger prints. You shouldn’t have any blow back from my kill. Hell, I went as far as to sign the body.” Bellamy said, hoping to appease the older man._

_The older man, Jake, nodded, and took one last swig of his coffee before standing. “I know you did. My daughter would say what you did was a form of art. She would like the Italian signature a lot… Very bold if I do say so myself. I honestly can’t wait to see how far you go… You’re going places kid. But remember, in this life that you have chosen to enter in to, you constantly have to keep moving to out run your demons, or find a light in all this darkness that will cast your demons away. Don’t get caught up in the past, because that will be your down fall. I’ll be listening and watching out for you kid.” He turned to go, leaving Bellamy with many thoughts to contemplate on his long journey home._

_When he did get home, his father and uncle were both, equal parts relieved and upset. They wanted to know what happened and why he left, but he refused to offer any information. They could tell something had changed, and while they had a sneaking suspicion, it was only confirmed a week later when a national news report discussed a baffling case in Settle that had police stumped. The body of drug dealer and convicted murderer, Cage Wallace, was found mutilated with a head shot, but absolutely no DNA or finger prints were found at the scene to point to a suspect. Even more stunning was the writing on the body that was translated to ‘The Rebel’._

_After that, Bellamy threw himself into the underworld. He trained harder and longer and with more focus. If he got knocked down, he got back up. If someone tried to back him into a corner, he came out with a gun loaded, cocked and aimed at their head. He knew he could never be the head of the Family because he was illegitimate, he was reminded enough by the people who looked down on him because he was a bastard child, but he knew he could be made Underboss, and that was what he worked toward. He set out to surround himself with people so loyal to him, he never had to worry about or threaten punishment for betrayal, because whomever he chose would willingly kill themselves before betraying Bellamy._

_He had a firm grasp on his real emotions and never exposed them for fear of an enemy using them against him. He cared for very few people. To an outsider it would have looked as though he never showed emotions toward those he cared for, but the reality was that, to those that truly knew Bellamy, knew he expressed his emotions through actions, not words._

_Bellamy learned when and how to turn different emotions on and off to deceive people into giving him what he wanted, whether it was their fear and respect he wanted, or their souls. He had a charisma about him that drew others in. He had his own code that he lived by, and that garnered him a lot of respect from others. He was fiercely loyal to those whom he cared about, and expected loyalty and respect in return. This was how he was able to run his own crew by the time he was 18._

_Bellamy handpicked and saved each and every member of his crew in one way or another, whether it was death, prison, or their own foolishness. He ran his crew with strength, discipline and skill that could rival military generals. The jobs and cons they did were picked and ran by Bellamy himself. He trained each and every one of his soldiers. They all became so in sync that they could take commands just by reading their leader’s body language. His crew was silent and positively lethal when they worked. They took care of each other and became a family._

_He gradually worked his way up the ranks, became a made-man, and was given the Underboss position by the time he turned 23, all while beginning to build his company, BGE. Finn was given the second Underboss position years later when he turned 24, with no type of real work put into getting the position._

_When Bellamy was made Underboss, he set out to make changes, with his father’s permission of course. Those changes included relocating the Capos and the crews they had authority over. They were spread out all along the east coast, and were placed in whatever city Bellamy decided to put them in. Finn made his own crew with his friend, Dax ‘Slumlord’ Smyth, in the New York area when Capos were being relocated._

_Finn and his cronies took over most of the drug trade, leaving Bellamy to handle everything else. Bellamy had most of the Capos’ loyalty, due to his reputation, and they trusted him to put them where they needed to be to earn the most money and maximize business and profit for the Family. Capos who gave him trouble were dealt with accordingly._

_Bellamy kept Nathan ‘The Enforcer’ Miller and John ‘The Menace’ Murphy, in the New York area to help him run New York City as well as his other six main guys. Murphy and Miller went to high school with Bellamy, and were a part of Bellamy’s original crew. His crew had a hard earned reputation for being the toughest in the whole Family- completely untouchable._

_While to the rest of the world he was well put together leader with a planned future and goals, on the inside Bellamy was horribly lost. He was often tormented and plagued by nightmares and night terrors as a child after his mother died… Stuck in a constant loop of watching her die over and over again until he was woken. As he got older, it was no longer just his mother that he saw, it was the faces of the people that he had killed. He spent many a sleepless nights just sitting in the shadows of his balcony watching the city go by. He often contemplated his mother’s last words and wondered… How he was supposed to get his light back, if he was in perpetual darkness? An even better question would be… Did he even want it back?_

_Now, at the age 27, Bellamy lived a very lonely existence, and while he longed for a woman in his life, a partner in all things, he knew he couldn’t be selfish and subject any woman to the demons that hunted him both at night and in the cold, harsh light of day._

Bellamy was snapped out of his reverie by his phone vibrating in his pants pocket.

He pulled it out and hit the answer button.

“Blake” he said in a clipped tone.

“Hey Skip. Wanted to call you and tell you the deal with the Irish went down without a hitch… We got the guns.” Came Murphy’s voice from the other end.

“Good. I need you and the other guys with Miller tonight at that meet with the Russians. Nykoli likes to think he is a sneaky bastard. Last thing we need is Finn falling for one of his lies and losing us a ton of money and our swag.”  Bellamy grimaced. He had a feeling tonight was not going to go as planned, but shrugged the feeling off.

“Okay Skip. Will do.”

Bellamy hit the end button without responding. He called Adam, his security detail, and told him he was leaving and to bring the SUV around front. He grabbed his black .50 Desert Eagle and slipped it into the waistband at his back, held securely there by his belt, before sliding on his suit jacket and checking his pockets to make sure he had his phone, keys and wallet. He did not want to have to come back later because he forgot something. Bellamy quickly grabbed his already packed black leather messenger bag and walked out the door, stopping briefly to lock it, before walking into his private elevator and hitting the button for the main floor.

He traveled down 46 stories, exited the elevator and the building quickly, slipping into the waiting SUV. As soon as his door was closed, the car was moving and 15 minutes later they reached Bellamy’s apartment building.

He walked through the lobby to the elevators, inserted a key and scanned his index finger to start the elevator and traveled 52 floors up to his penthouse apartment. When the doors opened, he walked to his front door. He opened the front door with a seven digit pass code and his key. Closing the door behind him, he dropped the bag on the table and walked strait through the foray, past the stairs on his right that led to the other floor and entered his bedroom. He grabbed a bottle of water from his mini fridge and headed for his bed, stripping down to his boxers as he went.

Bellamy crawled into bed and set is alarm on his phone for the following morning at 7 A.M. He slid his phone on the nightstand next to his Eagle, and let his four-day exhaustion take over his body and lull him to sleep.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for Chapter 2 folks! PLEASE REVIEW! The writing process goes so much faster with reviews flowing in, and I love hearing what you think. Same goes for kudos and bookmarks! Believe me, for Chapter 3, stuff happens that you won't wanna miss, so stay tuned...
> 
> -Redhead17x
> 
> These are just a couple of terms in case anyone didn't know what they were:  
> Family: an organized crime clan  
> Don: the head of the Family. The Big Boss.  
> Underboss: the second in command to the boss  
> Capo: the Family member who leads a crew; short for capodecina.  
> Consigliere: a trusted Family advisor, who is always consulted before decisions are made  
> Crew: the group of soldiers under the capo's command  
> Made Man: an indoctrinated member of the Family. Essentially, you pledge your allegiance to the boss and the family for life.


	3. Early Morning Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty peeps... Here is chapter 3. I am so grateful for all the people who left me kudos and bookmarked last chapter. It really means a lot. This chapter gets a bit intense, so, without further ado...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 3- Early Morning Meetings**

The shrill ringing of his phone pulled Bellamy from the depths of his slumber. Fumbling around for it on his nightstand, he answered gruffly. “Blake.”

“Boss, we got a situation.” Miller stated seriously over the line.

Looking at his clock, he read the digital face that stated it was 12:02 A.M. Well, it looked like he was only going to be getting three and a half hours of sleep.

“Well… What the hell is it Miller?” He ground out between clenched teeth.

“Finn didn’t show, and the Russians are getting antsy. Somethings going on, and it’s not just Finn not showing up.” Miller stated.

“I’m on my way. Tell them to wait, and I’ll be there.” He spit out, seething.

Bellamy didn’t wait for a reply as he hit the end button. He quickly threw on a pair of black jeans, a white Henley and his boots, and grabbed his phone, wallet, keys, and gun from the nightstand before exiting his bedroom.

In the foyer, he snatched up his leather jacket that was lying over the seat of a chair pushed against the wall, and his helmet that was lying on the table next to the chair with his work bag on top of it too. Then he was out the door and in the elevator on his way down to the underground parking garage beneath his building. As he silently fumed, he ran his hands through his messy curls trying to tame them into a style that didn’t scream ‘Just rolled out of bed’. After he somewhat succeeded, he ran his free hand over his face trying to control his urge to hunt his half-brother down and strangle him to death.

He stepped out of the elevator and made his way over to his row of allotted parking spaces. Three of the spaces housed his 2012 Dodge Charger, 2014 Hummer H3 Alpha SUV, and his new 2015 Ford F250 XLT Crew-Cab that he’d gotten a little over two months ago. All three were black with chrome accents, and custom fitted with tinted bulletproof glass, custom GPS tracking systems and fully outfitted hidden weapons compartments. Living in New York City he didn’t get a chance to drive them often at all, but he loved to have his toys close by anyway.

His last space housed his MV Agusta Rivale 800 motorcycle. He loved his bike. The speed, adrenaline, and freedom he felt while riding it was addicting and indescribable. He straddled the bike and slipped his helmet on over his head. He started the motorcycle, and the purr of the engine as he sped off into the night cooled some of his rage.

It wasn’t the first time Finn had abandoned his family obligations in lieu of the club scene or a party with a couple of willing women on his arms. Bellamy didn’t understand how Finn was to be made Don if he ditched his responsibilities every chance he got to chase something shiny.

To say he and his half-brother didn’t get along would be an understatement.

Thinking about it made him angry all over again. He had warned his father that Finn had to show his ugly mug at the buy because he knew these particular Russian buyers would try to pull something if one of the Underbosses wasn’t present as a show of strength. Obviously he was right.

Pulling up to the warehouse after a 20-minute drive, Bellamy contemplated on a scale of one to ten- ten being the most upset- how agitated his father would be if he shot Finn. Nothing too serious, just a flesh wound… Something he could walk, well limp, away from.

As he walked toward the warehouse entrance, he checked the clip in his Desert Eagle and slipped it back into the holster fitted into his leather jacket. He hardly ever went anywhere without a gun. He liked having his Desert Eagle best, but was okay using a standard Glock. He often carried his Eagle tucked into the waistband of his pants at his back, held firmly by whatever belt he wore. If he used a Glock, it was carried in a shoulder holster, or in an ankle holster.

Walking in, he noticed Miller and Murphy standing shoulder to shoulder, front and center with scowls on their faces. He quickly scanned the room as he moved toward them, and noticed Jasper, Monty, Lucca, Antonio, Diego, and Romeo standing in various places throughout the warehouse. All six of them were tense, and slowly moving into positions where they could get in a good shot if guns were drawn, which is where the situation looked to be headed. They looked as if they were almost hovering behind Miller and Murphy.

Bellamy put on an innocent open expression as he came up behind Miller and Murphy. The warehouse was silent except for the heavy sound of Bellamy’s boots. Putting a hand on each of their shoulders, he slowly nudged them aside and stepped forward.

“Nykoli.” He exclaimed, clasping the older man’s forearm in a supposedly friendly gesture. Nykoli was a man in his late 30’s with sandy brown hair and black beady eyes. “What seems to be the issue? Is there a problem with the quantity or quality of my merchandise?” Bellamy asked naively.

Nykoli’s expression went from anxious at Bellamy turning up at the warehouse, to shock at the warm greeting he received, but it settled on a calm cocky smirk at the gullibility the younger man was displaying. What Nykoli didn’t know was he was right where Bellamy wanted him.

“Bellamy… Call me Nyko and yes, there is a problem. Those three crates,” he waved to the three crates separated from the other seven, with the arm that wasn’t still clasped in Bellamy’s hand, “are missing guns. They’re too light, and I refuse to pay full price for the incomplete shipment, but… I’m willing to overlook this little incident, and take all ten crates for half the original price.” Bellamy’s face didn’t make any change, and he chose to stay silent, waiting for the other man to dig his grave further.

“If you do this,” Nyko continued. “I won’t say anything about your bad faith dealing and breach of trust. Those types of accusations could be damaging for business, you know. It’s nothing personal, just good business, you understand yes?” He asked in a haughty thick Russian accent.

Upon hearing this, Bellamy’s façade fell, and his face visibly hardened. His jaw clenched and his whole body tensed as his eyes turned cold and threatening- promising retribution for trying to deceive and fool him.

Bellamy, who was very skilled at reading people, noticed all of Nyko’s micro-expressions, such as when he blinked right after he said the crates were light, swallowed before suggesting half price, and leaned away after he finished speaking. He knew the Russian was lying.

Nyko looked down and subtly tried to pull his arm out of Bellamy’s grip, which only caused him to hold tighter.

“Is that so…” Bellamy murmured in a menacing voice. Low and dangerous enough to bring smirks to Miller and Murphy’s previously scowling faces and have all five Russians behind Nyko reaching for their weapons.

Before the Russians could pull their guns, or blink for that matter, there were eight guns already aimed at them, with Murphy and Miller drawing their guns as well as his other six guys.

Bellamy tsked disapprovingly. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He directed at the five Russians, while still staring at Nyko. “They were trained to shoot first, ask questions never… Just get rid of the body.”

Nyko was in awe of how well trained Bellamy’s men were. The man himself didn’t even have to give a signal for them to move, and his eyes never wavered away from Nyko.

Bellamy took in the sight of the anxious and fearful Russian before him, still in his grasp. It actually greatly amused and enraged Bellamy at the same time, that Nyko thought he could con the great Bellamy Blake, and badly too.

In the same low voice, he said, “Miller. Explain.”

Gun still aimed at the surrendered Russians, Miller spat with disgust, “Nykoli, here, decided to give himself a price cut on the hardware for being such a good and loyal customer. He only brought half the money, Boss.”

Bellamy chuckled darkly. “Well see now, that’s going to be a problem.”

He squeezed Nyko’s arm tighter until the man winced, then he let go. He moved back a step until Miller on his right and Murphy on his left, were flanking him.

Nyko looked relieved to have his arm freed. “Well trying to cheat me out of the amount of guns we ordered is a problem.” He said almost snidely.

“Drop the act Nyko!” Bellamy yelled, enraged. “You know that there are no guns missing from those crates. Hell they’re still sealed! What happened was you heard my half-brother was going to be here, and decided to pull one over on him and make a fool out of him. What you fail to realize is that no matter what you said to convince him or deceive him to take just half the money, Miller here was always going to call me. I would have found you and killed you before you even left the states.” With every harsh word, Nyko began to pale, realizing he had been caught. Bellamy calmed a bit and continued in a more subdued voice. “Do not be mistaken. When I say this is a problem, I meant a problem for you.”

Bellamy gestured to Murphy on his left, who grinned and waved, and said “My man Murphy here likes to get paid… I give you a… What did you call it Miller? A ‘price cut’?” He turned and asked Miller amused. Miller nodded glaring at Nyko. Bellamy turned back to Nyko, “If I give you a ‘price cut’, then Murphy doesn’t get paid. If Murphy doesn’t get paid, it makes him cry inside… In his special angry place.”

Behind him Murphy drew a tear track down his face with his free index finger.

“You don’t want to see an angry Murphy… People tend to die when he comes out to play. More specifically, your people will die.” He feigned exasperation with himself. “What am I talking about...? You don’t need to be told this. His street name, you know ‘The Menace’, speaks for its self, yes?” Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows. He received a nod in response.

“Good! Now that that’s established, I think that Murphy should get a bonus for the extra work you’re making him do on this deal and the emotional turmoil you put him through by threatening not to pay him.”

Murphy nodded slowly, grinning maniacally and baring his teeth.

Nyko began to protest, but the fierce glare he received quickly silenced him. The younger man made a show of thinking by crossing his arms across his chest, pacing, and rubbing his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, and then he stopped and declared…

“I want twice the full payment in addition to the half you brought…” He looked up innocently, “I’ve got to pay my other guys too. I think that covers trying to pull a fast one over on us. Now, as for trying to make a fool out of me… I want you to owe me three favors. Having a Bratva Capitan in my back pocket could be useful.  It’s nothing personal, just good business, you understand?”

Having his words thrown back at him had Nyko stepping forward, red faced and spluttering about not being anyone’s pawn.

Bellamy just shrugged and calmly, with a straight face said “Then tell me where you want me to send your body, and where you want the bullet.”

Nyko’s previously red face paled to a ghostly white. He openly gaped at the younger man.

“What?” Bellamy asked defensively. “You thought I would just let you walk outta here without some form of payment? Nah, I can’t have people thinking I’m going soft. You go soft, you get killed.”

“Y-y-you can’t d-do that.” Nyko stammered.

Bellamy gave a cold, harsh laugh. “I can’t? Come on Nyko! How long have you been buying guns from me now? Four years or so, right? You know they call me ‘The Rebel’ for a reason. How the hell do you think I got my nickname, huh? By following the rules? Listening to people when they say I can’t do something? No, think again. I do what I want, when I want, how I want, and right about now, I really want to pull my gun and put a bullet through your skull, but I’m… Restraining.” He spat the word out like it had personally offended him.

His fists clenched as he said “You have an hour to get my money here. If it’s not here by then,” He paused, “well, I think I’ll let Murphy have some fun with his new knife set before I shoot you.”

Nykoli scrambled for his phone, furiously typing on the thing before making a call.

For the first 30 minutes, everything got really quiet. Then Murphy seemed to get restless. He stowed his gun, and went to retrieve his knife set. He sat off to the side sharpening them loudly. After that, Nyko began to pace. As the time limit came closer and closer to ending, he began to sweat and wring his hands nervously.

At the 57-minute mark, Bellamy spoke up.

“Three minutes left Nyko. Cutting it kind of close aren’t you? Like to live on the edge?” He taunted, putting emphasis on the words ‘cutting’ and ‘edge’. He couldn’t resist. His guys started snickering.

At 59 minutes, on the dot, the warehouse door opened with a bang making Nyko jump and the other Russians flinch.

A dark haired man came walking swiftly through the door holding two large brief cases. He walked to Nyko, handed them over to him, and took up a stance behind him.

Nyko looked so relived, Bellamy thought he was going to pass out. He walked forward and held out the brief cases. Bellamy signaled for two of his guys. Lucca and Antonio came forward and took all three brief cases.

They walked over to the table Murphy had been using to sharpen his knives, off to the side of the warehouse, and counted the money.

Once they were done, Lucca turned around and nodded to his boss to signal all the money was accounted for.

Bellamy stood in front of the Russians with his arms crossed.

“Diego, Romeo, why don’t you help our ‘good and loyal’ customers load up their goods.” He stated sarcastically.

Five minutes later, all 10 crates were loaded onto their two trucks, using the warehouses loading dock.

Before Nyko moved away, Bellamy reached out his hand for a hand shake. Nyko hesitantly returned the hand shake, but before he could pull away, Bellamy reached out his other hand and grabbed his shoulder dragging him forward.

“ _Don’t forget my favors. I will collect on them eventually. I own you now, so don’t step out of line or do something stupid, because I’ll be watching_.” Bellamy whispered in Russian.

Nyko nodded solemnly. He turned to get into the waiting vehicle, the slump of his shoulders signaled his defeat.

As the trucks pulled away, Miler curiously asked “Boss, what’s going to stop them from finding a new supplier?”

Bellamy turned and spoke with confidence and a bit of arrogance. “Three things. One, we sell them guns at a cheap price compared to everyone else. Two, if they up and change suppliers after this little incident, it will make the Russians look weak and they lose a ton of respect with us and others. Three, Nykoli is in my debt. Put it simply, he can’t afford to do anything that might piss me off.”

Bellamy pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. It read 2:30 A.M. Bellamy was still inwardly fuming at the cheek of the Russians, a bit sleep deprived, and riding an adrenaline high. All of his men watched as he dialed his father’s number and waited as it rang three times before his father’s voice filtered over the line.

“Bellamy? Son, it’s like three in the morning. Why are you up? Did something happen?” His father’s voice started as confused and quickly turned anxious.

“Nah dad… I just thought this would be a perfect time to call you. I figured since I had to be up and at this meeting, you should be up too. It’s only fair after all. We can talk about the weather, or sports, or maybe how your other child is an irresponsible prick that will one-day crash and burn your legacy due to his overall immaturity and stupidity…” Bellamy stated lightly.

“Bellamy…” His father warned with his voice.

“Dang dad… Caught me.” He cut the older man off sarcastically and then became deadly serious. “Finn didn’t show his face at the meet with the Russians. Miller is here. Murphy is here. All _my_ guys are here. Hell even I’m here, when I should be at my apartment asleep, but where is Finn? Well, I can tell you one place where he isn’t… _Here_! Finn is nowhere to be found. Don’t really know where he is, but when I…” He stopped abruptly, when he looked up noticing Jasper and Monty trying to get his attention, looking at him with identical amused faces.

He just zoned out, lost in a memory of long ago…

_19-year-old Bellamy was waiting in an alley for his informant, Tao Khang._

_Tao and Bellamy went way back. They knew each other from high school. Tao was extremely loyal to Bellamy, after Bellamy saved him from being bullied and took him under his wing. When Bellamy found him, he was getting close to committing suicide and Bellamy was there to talk him down and be his friend. After high school, they parted ways, but kept in contact with one another. Tao flourished in college and was working to get a degree in accounting. He got involved with the Chinese Triad in his first semester of college, because he needed money to pay for school. He currently was a lower level accountant for them and handled little accounts. No matter what though, his loyalty to Bellamy came before everything else because Bellamy Blake had saved his life, and for that he owed the man all of his loyalty and respect._

_For the past three months, tensions with the Chinese Triad had been at an all-time high. They had begun to slowly encroach on the docks, which was Collin territory, and they had started to receive shipments as well as broker deals with clients there. They had been warned repeatedly to cease and desist, but they continued to act. Things were quickly escalating to the point of all-out war._

_Bellamy and his crew of Miller, Murphy, Antonio and Lucca, were still new at the time. Only officially a year old, and they were still considered to be young up and comers. They were given mostly grunt work by the Family, while doing a couple of cons and deals on the side, trying to get their reputation up._

_Footsteps drew Bellamy’s attention to the alley entrance. He stepped out from behind the dumpster that blocked him from being seen from the street. There stood Tao, wearing a hoodie with the hood thrown over his head._

_“Bellamy… Man I haven’t seen you in a while. It was great to hear from you.” Tao greeted._

_“TK… How have you been buddy? Keeping busy right?” Bellamy responded coming forward to shake the guys hand and pull him into a half hug._

_“You know it man… So what’s going on? What can I do for you?” Tao asked openly._

_“Okay, so you know things are getting a bit intense down at the docks. I need something that will stop this war before it has a chance to start and turn into a blood bath. You know of anything like that?” Bellamy asked._

_“You called at the right time then. There were orders issued about an hour ago, for two teenage kids to be brought in.” Tao shook his head._

_“Why are they wanted?” Bellamy asked skeptically. The Triad were not known for their kidnapping skills._

_“There was no reason given with the orders, but from the bits and pieces I’ve picked up, they came across some sensitive Triad business information. Their names are Jasper Jordan and Monty Green. Other than that, that’s all I’ve got that can be useful like what you’re talking about. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” He said._

_“No way Tao, that’s perfect. Thank you so much. Listen, I’ve got to run but don’t hesitate to call me if you ever need anything, alright?” Tao nodded and the two men shook hands, and then Tao was gone._

_Bellamy picked up his phone and called Miller._

_He picked up. “Hey Boss.”_

_“Miller, grab the guys and gear up. I need you to hunt down a Jasper Jordan and a Monty Greene. They are our key to stopping the Triad. I need you to get to them before the Triad can get to them, and bring them to the club... My office.” Bellamy stated his orders._

_“On it Boss.” Was Miller’s reply. After the call had ended, Bellamy started making his way there._

_The club was Bellamy’s three story night club that he was given by his uncle and father upon graduating high school to run as he pleased. He renamed it_ _Malavita, which in Italian means, Underworld. It was his unofficial headquarters. He never conducted mob business anywhere near his home or personal life. The warehouse was used to exchange goods and money with clients, or receive a shipment of imported goods from other sellers. From there the imported goods were taken to shipping containers to be stored until used or resold at a higher price._

_The club has three floors and a basement. The first floor was the main level bar and dance floor, level two was the VIP sections, and level three was Bellamy’s office, conference room and a few spare rooms. Bellamy’s top floor office and conference room, which over looked the entire club, was where the deals were brokered. The basement was completely sound proof, and was used as a combined execution and torture chamber. The basement and top level had separate security systems that were very high end. The whole place was huge._

_Thirty minutes later, Bellamy made his way through the doors of his club, stopping briefly to make sure everything was running smooth with his club manager, and then he was on his way to his office._

_He worked for about two and a half hours before security called to let him know his guys were coming up. Five minutes later there was a knock on his office door._

_“Come in.” He called out. His four guys walked in escorting two kids. They couldn’t have been older than 17. One was tall and lanky, with brown hair and big eyes. The other was an average height, stockier kid with black hair and small eyes._

_They both looked a little fearful, but mostly amazed._

_“How did everything go?” Bellamy asked Miller quietly, while the two boys oohed and awed everything they saw._

_“Fine… They were at the arcade playing games. I don’t think they know people are after them Boss.” Miller replied._

_Lucca and Antonio each grabbed a boy by the collar and sat them down in the two chairs in front of Bellamy’s desk._

_He stood up from his chair, walked around the front of his desk and leaned on it observing the two people in front of him in a bored, casual manner._

_“Names.” He stated in a clipped voice._

_“Um… I’m Jasper,” The lanky one replied. “And that’s Monty.” He pointed to the other kid who just waved._

_“How old are you two?” Bellamy asked in an amused voice._

_“We’re 16.” Monty replied._

_“School?”_

_“Occasionally show if we have nothing better to do.” Jasper stated, shrugging._

_“Huh…” Bellamy said. “Well now I know a little bit more information… Why in the world does the Chinese Triad, want you two so badly?” Bellamy asked in a stern voice, as if he were reprimanding children._

_“Um… Well you see… We uh…” Jasper began to stumble over his words. Monty took over and began talking._

_“Jasper and I hacked into the Triad network to see if they used ninjas with katanas to do their bidding.” At Bellamy’s openly gaping stupefied expression, Monty continued. “It was to settle a bet.” He stated in a voice that implied it should have been obvious. “But instead, we just got a bunch of times and dates. Some with locations too. We never did settle that bet Jas…” He finished looking over at Jasper. “Do you know?” He asked Bellamy curiously, who was staring at him in bewilderment._

_If it had been anyone else, Bellamy would have called bullshit and took them to the basement for some ‘Fun time with Murphy’ as he dubbed it, but looking at the two kids in front of him, squabbling about who won the bet, he just knew there was no way they could come up with something so absolutely asinine like their story and it have not happened to them. He looked at his four guys in the back of the room, and saw them all trying so hard not to laugh out loud at the sheer stupidity of these two kids._

_“So you two know they are after you now, and most likely will kill you when they find you, right?” Bellamy interrupted their verbal sparring._

_“Um… No, that is definitely news.” Jasper replied slowly, leaning forward eyes wide._

_“Okay… This is what we’re going to do. Did you see the security of this place when you walked in?” Both nodded vigorously. “I want you to try to hack my security network. If you can, I’ll give you both two good offers. If you can’t, I throw you back on the streets to fend for yourselves against the Triad. Do you agree to these terms?” Both nodded again. Bellamy walked to his cabinet and pulled a new laptop from the shelf. He handed it over to the boys and let them get to work._

_About 15 minutes in, Jasper looked up and asked if there were snacks, because he was feeling a bit peckish. Bellamy scoffed and told them to hurry up. For the next 10 minutes Bellamy and his guys watched in amusement as the two boys took turns with the laptop passing it back and forth. Finally, Monty and Jasper jumped up and did weird looking happy dances._

_“Done. We’ve been hacking since we we’re like 12.” Jasper exclaimed to Bellamy as he handed over the laptop._

_Bellamy looked at the screen. Sure enough, his club security cameras were on the screen showing everything that was happening downstairs, in the VIP section, and in the hallway right outside of his office. Once they were done dancing and were sitting down again, Bellamy closed the laptop and put it on the desk behind him. He faced the two miscreants._

_“Well done boys. Now for your two offers. Offer one is that you run, and I give you each a one-way ticket to anywhere in the world, with enough cash to start you off, but once it’s gone, you’re on your own. Option two is I give you positions in my crew. If you choose option two, things are going to change drastically in your lives, and once you’re in, you can’t leave. You should know that it won’t always be sunshine and daisies… There is a very real possibility you will die. You have 30 minutes to think it over.” Bellamy finished abruptly._

_Bellamy was breaking an old mob rule by offering these two non-Italians, positions in the Family, but Bellamy had come to live by the ‘Rules were made to be broken’ mentality… He was The Rebel after all, and had already broken the rule with Miller and Murphy who were also non-Italians. The thing was, times were changing, and having Italian blood did not mean someone had a greater loyalty than someone without Italian blood… His crew was determined by nationality rather than ethnicity, and they were all Americans, so that settled it really. His father had always been lax about the need to be Italian before being able to join the Family… Bellamy thought it came from him being forced to marry Vanessa, simply because of her Italian roots, rather than being able to have the choice to marry his mother who had a lot of Filipino in her in addition to the Italian. Bellamy thought his father was doing a pretty good job of moving the Family toward more modern times, and making the organization more American based than Italian-American, seeing as how newer generations were almost exclusively American… The Family still kept a lot of the old Italian traditions and rules though, it was just some things that had changed._

_Jasper and Monty took a moment and looked at each other, before nodding simultaneously. They turned, looking up at Bellamy, before saying together, “Option Two.”_

_Bellamy grinned. “Then this is how it’s going to go… You start attending school regularly, never missing a day unless I approve it, and getting good grades. I want you both to graduate top of your class. In addition to that, you’re both going to start being trained by Miller and Murphy over there…” He nodded in their general direction. “And later, me, once you master the basics. You are going to be my computer and technology guys, but first, I’m going to need all those dates, times, and locations you got when you hacked the Triad.”_

_Once the guys got it and handed it over to Bellamy, Bellamy used it as leverage against the Triad. He threatened to intercept every shipment and kill every Triad member he saw if they didn’t back off and drop the hit on Monty and Jasper. The Triad relented, not being able to take the financial hit that would incur, but things were still strained between the two organizations, so they chose to just avoid each other all together. That was the point that Bellamy and his crew were noticed and were no longer treated like kids. It was talked about for months afterward how ‘the great Rebel, Blake’ had prevented a war._

_About a month after everything died down, Bellamy was hand delivered a package and a letter. The package contained a black .50 Desert Eagle. The letter, with no return address, said:_

_‘Rebel,_

_I told you that you were going places, and I’m glad to see I was right. You’re gonna do terribly great things, kid… I can feel it. Enclosed is an exact make and model of the gun I use. Remember that your gun is your safety and comfort, because for every ally or friend you make, there is always someone else that will be made your enemy and look to hurt you and those you surround yourself with._

_Do come and visit soon, and bring your crew once they are fully trained. I would love to meet them. Don’t worry about where to go, I’ll find you. I’m listening and watching out for you kid…_

_See you soon,_

_Jake'_

_Monty and Jasper flourished under Bellamy’s watchful eye. Bellamy put them both back in school, and made sure to keep them there until they both had college degrees. They were forbidden to do any hacking unless Bellamy gave permission._

_They both seemed to fit into the crew like two missing puzzle pieces. They both designed or bought all the technology and gadgets the crew used, like the modified cell phones they used for multiple things. They built special watches with anti-bugging devices and GPS trackers inside them for all the guys. Both or either features could be turned on or off with a click of two buttons on the sides of the watch._

_When Bellamy started up his company, he brought on both boys to design and setup all of the systems and mainframes he used, both for his legitimate business, and his not so legitimate businesses. All the security systems, were maintained by both boys and all the technology was set up to be secure and un-hackable. They stayed on and ran the IT department, as well as continuing to design tech, building it with BGE resources, and patenting it under the BGE umbrella._

_They were expert hackers, and Bellamy grew to be very thankful over the years that they were on his side._

His father’s voice drew him out of his musings.

“Bellamy? When you… What? What are you planning to do son?” His father demanded to know.

“Nothing dad… Absolutely nothing. I’ll be seeing you soon…” Bellamy stated in a calm pacifying voice while still watching Monty and Jasper grinning at him, and he hung up the phone. “You already found him, didn’t you?” Bellamy accused, not unhappily.

“Sure did, Cap.” Jasper stated smugly.

“Great. Send me the location.” He stated wearily. He turned to find Miller and Murphy watching him intently. “Miller did you bring your truck?”

“Yeah, Boss, I did.” He replied.

“Okay, I need you to trade with me. I brought my bike, and I need an actual vehicle for the trash I’m going to be transporting.” Bellamy said with a straight face.

“No way Boss. I’m coming with you.” He said taking a step forward.

“Yeah Skip, count me in too.” Murphy said coming up beside Miller.

“You know we’re down for a party. Jas and I are in.” Monty said cheekily behind him.

“I can’t ask you guys to help me clean up my family mess” Bellamy responded, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You weren’t asking… We’re telling you we’re coming. No way are we letting you deal with Little Finny on your own Boss.” Lucca said as he, Antonio, Diego, and Romeo completed the circle surrounding Bellamy.

Bellamy took in the eight men surrounding him, and said, “Okay… Pack heat and gear up. I don’t know what we’re walking into, but I highly doubt it’s going to be good.” He stated as they grabbed their guns. Monty and Jasper handed out the earbuds they used during missions or cons. They were special or something… He wasn’t really listening when Jasper and Monty were explaining it to him. All he cared about was they were secure, weren’t seen, and they all could communicate with them.

Bellamy stood with his arms crossed, and when everyone looked to be ready, he turned and began to walk toward the door calling out over his shoulder as he went…

“Alright boys, load up and move out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Drop me a review! Next chapter includes some intense confrontations, so stay tuned!
> 
> -Redhead17x
> 
> P.S.- I'm planning to update regularly, every Friday... :)


	4. Half-brothers and Stepmothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday people! Yay! I have had a horrible week with my computer crashing and losing all my data... Thankfully, I had mostly everything backed up. It was a terrible ordeal, but here's chapter 4, as promised, and it's pretty long. :)
> 
> Disclaimer and Warning: I own nothing except my plot and my own characters. There is some violence this chapter (It's the mafia guys... It's gonna happen).

**Chapter 4- Half-brothers and Stepmothers**

That address that Jasper sent him was for a place that Bellamy knew of. It was a moderately high end strip club named _Head Over Heels_. It was located in a sketchy neighborhood, and was known to be a place that wealthy drug users went to when they were looking for their next score, hoping to be anonymous.

Bellamy detested drugs because of what happened to his mother at the hands of a drug user and refused to have anything to do with them when he took over as Underboss. He declined to operate the drug running and trafficking side of the Family business. Finn took over that aspect when he took the second Underboss position.

They had to pass Bellamy’s apartment, on their way to the strip club, so Bellamy decided to quickly switch from his bike to his truck. Then, they were back on their way. Lucca and Antonio were riding with Miller in his 2009 Dodge Ram 2500, Diego and Romeo were riding with Monty and Jasper in Jasper’s 2013 black Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and Murphy was on his Ducati.

Forty-five minutes after leaving the warehouse, they rolled up in front of Head Over Heels. Bellamy left his leather jacket in the cab of his truck and tucked his gun in the waist band of his jeans. They parked right in front of the club, by the curb side. No cop was going to give them a ticket, because cops didn’t patrol these types of neighborhoods unless they wanted to get shot at. No one was brave enough to call the cops anyway… Not in an area like this.

They got out of their vehicles and took in their surroundings. The neighborhood was quiet and the streets practically empty due to it being a weekday and super early in the morning. The security on the place itself was appalling.

As they walked to the front door, a burly security guard stepped out and stopped them with an outstretched hand. The dude was huge. Maybe 6’4, 250 lbs., and a year or two older than himself if Bellamy had to guess.

“I’m sorry sir, I can’t let you in unless you’re on the list. You on the list?” He rumbled.

“Look for Bellamy Blake.” Bellamy said, and watched the fruit of his labor as the guard’s hard expression went slack and face went beat red. It really was a testament to the sheer power Bellamy had, that by just saying his name, he could invoke such fear in a man who looked like the hulk, and have him stammering out apologies.

Bellamy’s name was revered and said with awe by those he had saved, a whisper said amongst those who wished to avoid him and feared that his name, if spoken too loudly, would conjure the man himself, and a prayer to those who were close to meeting their maker by his hand.

“I-I’m sorry Mr. Blake, go right in. Let me know if I can get you anything… Really, anything at all.” The guard said stepping aside looking down, hoping he hadn’t offended the man too much.

Bellamy smirked. “It’s okay big guy… You’re just doing your job. I might take you up on your offer though.” Bellamy said, and walked into the sleazy establishment.

It looked like a typical stripping joint… Maybe one of the nicer ones he’d seen from doing business deals. Most business men, whether legit or illegal, brokered their deals in places like this, with wives and children at home. They tried to buy their clients with women and booze, and what kind of host would they be if they didn’t partake in the goods themselves? So, they drank and engaged with the women who worked in the establishment. That type of strategy had never worked with Bellamy, and he never tried to employ it with the clients he hoped to secure.

While Bellamy had never had a serious relationship, he’d say he had an average amount of one night stands for a person his age over the years. He never took them to his apartment, always to a hotel. Since he became a person of interest for the media, he made sure they always signed Non-Disclosure Agreements, and he made sure they knew it was a one-night stand. The women who hung around and slept with him were always looking to get one thing or another from him. Some of the time it was money, other times it was power or fame, but more often than not, it was the chance to land the title of the girl who nailed down the great Bellamy Blake… They got none of those things. There was one regular girl, Echo was her name, who was always available and ready for a good time. Bellamy thought she was a good lay, but nothing special. She knew her place.

What they all didn’t realize though, is he had no intentions to settle down with any of them. None of them were worthy to be taken home to meet his grandmother. Bellamy believed he would never find someone that amazing, let alone deserve to be given the chance to love them and have them love him in return.

If, and that was a big if, he ever did decide to settle down with an amazing woman, he would never cheat or even look at another woman. Jake had given him a ton of advice over the years, and one such piece was, ‘How can you expect your men to trust you to be loyal and true to them, if you can’t even be loyal and true to your own wife?’. Jake had never led him astray about anything, so he had no intention to start doubting the man.

Bellamy turned to Jasper and quietly said, “Find him.”

Jasper nodded solemnly. He took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times and walked off toward the VIP rooms. He stopped at one of the doors and turned nodding at Bellamy.

Bellamy kicked the door in and walking in, he saw Dax in a chair getting a lap dance, and Finn on the couch with two girls on his lap. Four of Dax’s guys were in various states of dress with scantily clad women all over them, all drunk or high if Bellamy had to guess.

Dax looked up and saw Bellamy standing there with his eight guys behind him. He grinned broadly and said “Blake, come to watch?”

With that comment went the last of Bellamy’s patience. He pulled his gun, cocked it, and aimed it at Dax’s head. The room froze.

“Dang man, really messed up didn’t ya?” Came Murphy’s smug quip. He absolutely loathed Dax. “You remember last time Boss pulled a gun on someone, Miller?”

“Yeah, he blew both of the guy’s kneecaps off, and put a bullet in his shoulder. The cleaning crew was cleaning blood off the warehouse floor for hours.” Miller replied with a grimace.

Bellamy ignored the reminiscing his guys were doing and said, “Ladies, I’ve never killed a woman, and I have no inclination to start, but if you don’t get out of here right now, there will be consequences. Say nothing to no one.” The girls got up and scrambled from the room.

“Bellamy…” Finn moaned and pouted like a three year who just got his favorite toy taken away.

“Shut. Up. Finn.” Bellamy growled. He walked over to Dax, who was no longer grinning, pulled him to his feet and put the muzzle of his Eagle to the center of Dax’s forehead.

“What is he on, and how long ago did he take it?” Bellamy spat.

“Uh… I… Been drinking since we got here about two hours ago, two joints, one when we got here the other ‘bout 30 minutes ago, and some codeine a while ago.” Dax said.

Bellamy cursed and rolled his eyes.

“Lucca, Romeo grab my stupid half-brother and take him outside… Wait for me. Jasper, Monty follow them.” They all did as they were told.

When they were gone, Bellamy shoved Dax back down into the chair and turned, signaling his guys to grab Dax’s people and sit them on the couch. The next seconds seemed to move in slow motion.

Miller, Murphy, Diego and Antonio moved to grab Dax’s four guys. They had hardly taken their second step when Bellamy heard the distinct sound of a pistol being cocked. He turned and saw one of Dax’s guys, Blaine, aiming right at Antonio, Antonio froze. Right as Blaine fired, Bellamy pushed Antonio out of the way. He felt a burning-stinging pain ripple down his right arm from his bicep, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He aimed his Eagle and fired.

The body hit the floor with a sickening thud. The other three guys were quickly wrestled to the floor, stripped of their weapons and were each handcuffed with zip ties. Bellamy loaded another bullet into the chamber of his gun and put the spent bullet casing in his pocket. He turned to stare at Dax who was gazing at the body on the floor.

“You didn’t think I’d do it, did you?” Bellamy asked coldly. Dax just shook his head in astonishment and a bit of shame staring at the body on the floor. “You, Dax, just got Blaine killed. You think I didn’t see you motion for him to pull his gun?” Dax looked up at Bellamy with wide eyes. “Well think again. I’ve got better things to do than waste my time on you. Make another move like that again, and nothing or no one on earth will be able to save you from my wrath. I think you have forgotten your place, Slumlord.” Bellamy sneered his nickname. “With no Finn around to protect you, you’re just a nobody with a title. You had better learn some respect, and learn it real quick like… Do you understand me?”

Dax cast his head downwards and just nodded his head submissively, not daring to look the man in the eye again.

“Use your words Dax… Speak.” Bellamy demanded.

“Yes.” Dax mumbled.

“You want to try that again, dog?” Bellamy said putting his Eagle flush against Dax’s temple.

“Yes sir!” He yelped feeling the heat coming from the recently discharged weapon.

“Good. Now clean up this mess.” Bellamy said uncocking his gun and stowing it back in the waist band of his jeans.

He turned and walked out of the room, not stopping until he was out of the club. No one seemed to hear the gun shots, and if they did, it didn’t faze them. His four guys followed him silently. Once outside, he quietly asked Antonio if he was okay.

“I’m good boss… Uh. Thanks for… You know.” He stumbled over his words. Bellamy just gave him a pat on the shoulder in a way that said ‘you’re welcome’.

Bellamy felt the blood starting to run down his bicep, and took a quick peek at wound. It was nothing but a graze. It was deep enough that it would need stiches later, but not severe enough to have him passing out of blood loss before he could attend to it. Bellamy had a high pain tolerance, and he’d had worst… He honestly hardly felt the pain.

When he looked up from examining his wound, he found Monty standing in front of him with some gauze. All the guys outside knew what happened because of the earbuds. After they quickly wrapped it, Bellamy noticed the guard watching them with curious eyes.

“Hey big guy, you got a name?” Bellamy asked.

“It’s Jones, sir. Derek Jones.” He man replied straitening up immediately when he was addressed. Bellamy could tell the older man was military.

“Well Mr. Jones, want to tell me why an ex-military man, such as yourself, is working in a place like this?” Bellamy asked curiously. At Jones’ shocked expression, Bellamy explained. “The way you stand and carry yourself, the buzz cut, and all the ‘sirs’ give you away.”

Jones looked a little embarrassed but said. “I couldn’t find anywhere else decent to work after I got out of the military that would hire me without a college degree or some sort of official training and experience, none of which I have. Bills started piling up from my mom’s cancer treatments, my living expenses, and then her funeral expenses when she died three months ago from cancer… I just took whatever job I could. I just feel lucky not to be a garbage man. I work here three nights a week as a bouncer and at a school five days a week as a janitor. I’m planning to enroll in a couple college classes next semester if I can swing it financially and between jobs, so I can start working towards my degree.” He finished proudly.

There was a quality in Jones that made Bellamy want to help the man out. “Jones, you know who I am and what I do... Would you say yes, if I offered you a job? I’m thinking something along the lines of one of my bodyguards. I currently only have one. The pay is good, and you will have time in the evenings on some days to attend…” Before he could even finish, Jones was nodding his head furiously.

“Well, okay then. You’re hired. ” Bellamy said grinning. “Come to Blake Global Enterprises on Monday morning at 9 A.M. and well get you set up. That gives you the rest of today, and tomorrow which is Friday, to quit your two jobs.” Bellamy held his good hand out for a handshake.

“Yes sir, I am so very grateful to you. Thank you, sir, thank you so much.” Jones said shaking Bellamy’s hand vigorously.

Commotion by the curbside drew Bellamy’s attention from Jones to Lucca and Romeo who were holding Finn. When Finn saw his half-brother shaking hands with the guard, Finn knew he was next on the list of things Bellamy had to take care of, and although he was still a little out of it, he was coherent enough to know that what was coming wasn’t going to bode well for him. He began to struggle and try to get away, but Lucca and Romeo held him too tightly. Bellamy waltzed over like he had all the time in the world. He stopped in front of Finn, and stared him down. Finn stopped struggling, so Lucca and Romeo let him go and moved to stand behind Bellamy with the rest of the guys and Jones. Finn tried to stare back defiantly, but his eyes were still glazed over from his high so he just looked dazed.

“What are you going to…?” Finn started. Before he could even finish his sentence, Bellamy decked him so hard he fell, unconscious to the ground. Murphy snickered behind him.

Then Bellamy went to work. He walked to his truck, grabbed a roll of rope out of his truck bed, and one of the many knives he owned, out of his glove box.

Walking back over to Finn, he rolled the man over onto his front and tied his wrists together behind his back and tied his elbows together as well. Then he rolled him back over onto his back and arms, and proceeded to tie his ankles together and then his knees. Lastly, Bellamy gagged him, and then put his knife in his jeans pocket.

With an ease that didn’t look possible, Bellamy pulled the unconscious man to his tied together feet by his shirt collar and tossed him over his shoulder of his uninjured arm. He walked to his truck and dropped the body carelessly into the flatbed of the truck with a thump, after stepping up on the ball hitch and bumper of his truck. He wasn’t even winded. After stepping down, he turned around, ready to give orders to his guys, but stopped at the shocked and awe filled faces of seven of his men and Jones.

Murphy on the other hand was smirking, slowly shaking his head. “You kinky bastard… You got something to share? Like why you carry rope in the back of your truck or how you learned that? Most importantly… Can you teach me?” He asked the last question sincerely with a bit of excitement.

Bellamy just shook his head in exasperation at the child-like wonder in his voice. The other guys were roaring with laughter. Jones gave a wave and walked inside the strip club still grinning and chuckling to himself.

“Alright…” Bellamy said. “From this point on, it’s just me, Lucca, Antonio, Miller and Murphy. The rest of you go home, some of you got classes tomorrow.” He said thinking of Jasper and Monty who were working on their Doctorate degrees. Diego and Romeo had been up for about two days straight already and needed to get some sleep for work tomorrow. He got various complains and wining coming from the four people departing, but they did as they were told. They all handed Jasper back the ear pieces because they wouldn’t be needed for the rest of the night.

Bellamy was pretty sure Monty handed Lucca a small video recorder before he left, but he was too tired to care.

“The rest of you, you’re with me. We’re going to the Collins Estate.” Bellamy declared climbing into the cab of his truck.

On the 20 minute drive to his father’s house, Bellamy made sure to hit the brakes just as hard and as often as possible, and took all the turns very sharply.  Every time rolling or a thump was heard, Bellamy couldn’t help the little grin that played at the corner of his mouth.

When he pulled up at the iron gates, Bellamy typed in the code, and they swung open. The motorcycle and two trucks made their way speedily and noisily down long and winding driveway.  When the house came into view, Bellamy quickly hit the brakes and whipped his truck around the circular driveway, stopping at the steps that led to the front door and porch. The loud thud coming from the bed of his truck when he hastily stopped the truck, was the sweet, wonderful sound of revenge.

Bellamy put the truck in park and killed the engine. He climbed out, walked to the rear of the truck and dropped the tailgate. Finn was in a still unconscious heap towards the back of the truck bed, close to the cab. Bellamy pulled himself up into the bed and walked over to his pathetic half-brother, prodding him with his foot to see if he woke up. Finn just groaned.

“Miller.” He called out. “You got a bottle of water?”

Miller rummaged around in his truck and pulled one from the back seat, holding it high enough for Bellamy to see.

“Awesome…” He murmured to himself. He grabbed Finn and hauled him to the edge of the tailgate.

“Two of you come grab him.” Murphy and Antonio stepped forward and dragged him off the tailgate by his tied elbows. They followed Bellamy up the stairs to the front door, with Miller and Lucca following behind them.

Bellamy alternated between banging on the door and repeatedly ringing the doorbell. After about a minute and a half, the door swung open to reveal his bare chested, disheveled father in silk sleep pants. His dad did not look happy. Behind him, Vanessa was standing at the top of the stairs in a robe glaring at him, but really… What was new?

“Hi, Dad!” Bellamy asked cheerily. Then he frowned, making a show of seeing how his father was dressed and said in an admonishing tone, “Were you sleeping? Dad it’s like 4:30 in the morning! Were you just going to sleep the day away? Sorry I didn’t bring breakfast.”

Bellamy pushed roughly past his father into the huge entry way. His guys following behind him, still dragging and unconscious Finn. Vanessa gasped and let out a little scream when she saw Finn tied up like a trussed up pig, and bleeding from one corner of his mouth where Bellamy had punched him. Two of his father’s men came skidding around the corner, stopping at the sight that greeted them, as well as Bianca, their middle-aged live-in house keeper. Bellamy just nodded at them all, and then proceeded to ignore their presence.

“You killed him!! You monster!!” Came Vanessa’s blubbering as she raced down the stairs, toward Finn.

“Oh, how I wish that were true… Take another step and try to touch him,” Came Bellamy’s cold voice that stopped her at the foot of the stairs. She knew not to mess with Bellamy when he used that voice. “I really will kill him then.”

“Oh for the love of God, what in the world happened now?” Damian said in complete exasperation, standing to his full 6’2 height, fully waking up at the sight of his irresponsible youngest son being dragged into the house.

Bellamy ignored the question, and motioned for his guys to set Finn in the middle of the room. They dragged him to the center of the room, where Murphy and Antonio literally dropped him. Finn crumpled to the floor, letting out a groan. Vanessa began to wail loudly.

“If you don’t shut the hell up, you absolute ratchet harpy, I’m going to blow a hole in his leg like I was planning to do earlier, and really give you something to cry about. The only reason I didn’t before is because dad would be pissed.” Bellamy said with complete exasperation. Her dramatics got very old, very quickly.

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!! I’ll stop you…” She yelled. The deep menacing laugh he gave at her words sent chills of fear up her spine.

He turned and looked at his guys, asking “Why does everyone think that by just saying I can’t do something, I won’t do it?” He turned back to Vanessa and said, “Who do you think can move quicker, me and my gun or you and you manicured talons? You come at me, and I drop you.” He promised menacingly. That shut her up real quick.

Damian had been calm through the whole shouting match between his wife and firstborn son, quietly observing his oldest son. He noticed the dark circles under the young man’s eyes and the way his face was pale and pinched with flickers of pain. He was also aware of the way he held his body so tensely as if expecting an attack at any moment, and the way he flinched every time he moved his right arm. Bellamy had his leather jacket on, so Damian didn’t see the wound or the blood on his shirt. Damian became worried that his boy had been hurt. Something big had to have happened for his normally calm and collected Bellamy to go off like this.

Bellamy turned and looked at his father, and said coolly and with a firm voice. “If this is who you choose as your successor, then as soon as you’re six feet deep, me and mine, are gone. I will take whoever wants to come, and leave. I understand that you can’t make me boss because I’m illegitimate, that is perfectly fine, but I refuse to serve under this wretched douche-monkey. So this is your only warning, find someone else, or after you die, I will leave your perfect family in ruins, because that is exactly where he is headed.” He said looking down at Finn with disdain.

“Watch your tone of voice, son.” Damian said with authority. While Bellamy was his favorite and most beloved of his two children, and he often let the younger man get away with murder, both literally and figuratively, he still demanded some level of respect from him, and Bellamy was beginning to cross that line. “You know you can’t just leave the family, no matter how much you dislike your brother. Why don’t you just tell me what the hell happened so we can all be on the same page, huh?” Damian asked in a soothing, coaxing voice hoping to calm his son down.

Bellamy looked up at his father and said. “Half-brother, and I can and will leave dad. I do have options, and some of them are a hell of a lot better than being just an Underboss in this family. As for what happened, well it’s simple really. I just needed one night off to get some sleep, and Finn couldn’t even handle things for one night without ditching his responsibilities… One night!!!!” Bellamy yelled. “I am running on four hours of sleep, in as many days maybe… I don’t really know anymore, and he couldn’t even attend to the _one_ deal that was set up for the night with the Russians to make sure everything went down smooth. No, he decided to go get drunk and high on alcohol, weed and codeine, with… You guessed it… Dax. Antonio and I almost got killed by Blaine, on Dax’s orders of course, and I had to kill him.”

“Take the jacket off…” Damian commanded. When Bellamy didn’t move, he used his Boss voice and demanded, “Now.”

Bellamy grudgingly did as he was told, his eyes narrowed on his father in a withering glare, and slipped the jacket off, handing it to Antonio. It was then that Damian noticed the blood on his oldest son’s shirt… Quite a lot of blood. He looked at the bandage and saw the wound had bled through the gauze. He felt anger run through him at the sight of his adored oldest son hurt, especially on the orders of a Family member. He stepped forward and said, “Come on, let’s go get it stitched up.”

Bellamy refused saying, “No, I actually really want to hear what Finn has to say for his immature twit self. I’ll stitch my own self up when I get to my place. I do not want to be here in this house any longer than I have to.” The father and son glared at each other. Bellamy was sure his father was angry at him for refusing to let him help, but he was beyond the point of caring about anything other than handling his problems and leaving. Damian wanted to argue, but knew his stubborn son would argue ‘til he was blue in the face and passed out of blood loss. He let all of Bellamy’s disrespectful behavior roll off his shoulders, because he knew his son was just tired… Tired of it all. He was tired physically and mentally, tired of his stepmother’s constant barbs, and tired of cleaning up after his half-brother… He understood, he really did.

Still glaring at his father, daring him to say something, Bellamy held his hand out in the direction of his guys. Miller slipped the bottle of water into his hand. Bellamy took it, and turned, marching over to Finn. He pulled his knife and cut the rope that was acting as the gag, opened the bottle and began to pour it on his face.

Finn woke spluttering and pulling at the ropes that still bound him. Bellamy kept pouring the water ‘til the bottle was empty.

“What the hell Bellamy? I was up! You didn’t have to keep pouring the whole bottle!” Finn yelled outraged.

“Sorry, I couldn’t tell because I was trying not to look at your face... It makes me want to punch people.” Bellamy stated seriously. Murphy and Lucca started snickering, while Miller and Antonio just smirked, all four knowing the statement was very true.

Finn just glared, still wiggling around on the floor like worm. “Why am I tied up? Did you tie me up? Why does my head and body hurt?” Finn asked accusingly.

“Couldn’t have you jumping out of the back of the truck. I sure did tie you up. Lastly, because traffic was rough on the way over here and all the gassing and braking might’ve tossed you around a bit… Or it could be the drugs.” Bellamy answered his questions, all in order.

His father swore, while Vanessa began to do her high-pitched screeching thing that aggravated Bellamy to no end.

“You drugged him, tied him up, and through him in the back of your truck? Oh my poor baby!” She said wailing again. Although, no matter how much she wished to get to her son, she didn’t make a move towards him, knowing Bellamy would do as he promised.

“Nah…” Bellamy said in a tired voice. “Drugs aren’t my thing. Your ‘baby boy’ as you called him, is the one on drugs, taking them regularly too if I had to take a guess. I didn’t drug him.”

“He’s lying mom! Dad, I would never do drugs!” Finn pleaded with his mother and father like a child tattle tailing on a sibling. Vanessa nodded vigorously completely buying the story her son was selling her, but Damian looked conflicted… Torn on which son to believe. Seeing Finn’s smug grin at their father’s indecisiveness, Bellamy decided to teach Finn something Jake had long ago taught him.

“But see now Finn, that’s the thing. I have no need to lie to anyone, because I don’t fear anyone. A wise man once told me, that the only time you lie, is when you’re afraid. Now, you apply that to this situation, and I think it becomes clear you’re the only one who has something to fear, thus you’re the liar.” Bellamy stated smug with pride at having one upped his half-brother and his foolish scheme to turn their father on Bellamy.

All four of Bellamy’s guys, and even his father’s two men were nodding at the truth the Rebel was speaking. Not one of them had ever heard Bellamy tell a lie because he was afraid… It just wasn’t in his nature. He didn’t need to lie, not when he had more money than God to throw around and a gun to point in someone’s face.

His father scoffed loudly, “Drugs Finn? Really?”

Bellamy continue though, not giving Finn a moment to speak or refute the accusations that were being thrown at him.

“My boys and I found him at a strip club in a VIP room with a couple of whores on his lap, both of which looked suspiciously like his mommy.” Bellamy said in a rehearsed confused voice, but then made a show of shaking his confusion off, and continued by saying “But then again, all whores look the same, am I right? Oh, and your damn-straight he rode in the back of the truck… I couldn’t have him throwing up on my leather seats. He’s tied up, because I didn’t know if he was suicidal of not. But I guess he’s with mommy now, so it’s on her whether he kills himself or not.” Bellamy said walking over and started cutting all the ropes.

“Bellamy…” His father asked. “Why would your brother be suicidal?” His father asked in a genuinely confused voice as Bellamy cut the last rope.

He stood up, and with a dead serious expression, Bellamy said, “HALF- brother. And because if I had a face like his, I’d probably be diagnosed as ‘mentally ill with suicidal tendencies’ and have to be strapped down in a mental hospital for the sheer amount of times I would have tried to kill myself. I didn’t know if that was a problem for Finn or not. I just assumed so, with the drugs and alcohol he consumed.” Bellamy shrugged.

“What I do is none of your business and you have no right to judge me. You think you’re so perfect.” Finn spit.

“Really Finn? Is that all you’ve got? I thought we’ve established everyone makes mistakes… Even God, when he made you.” Bellamy replied with a sickly sweet voice and smirk to match.

“You’re just a monster. A killer. Your dead harlot of a mother would be jut. So. Proud.” Finn enunciated as he leered each word.

“Hey!!” Damian yelled, “You better watch what you say boy, before I teach you a lesson in respect you won’t soon forget.” Damian growled.

Bellamy felt rage well up in him and saw nothing but red. He was standing over Finn in the blink of an eye. Bellamy had Finn’s shirt collar in one hand and punched him squarely in the mouth with his injured arm. The burning pain from his wound felt good. It felt grounding. “That’s for almost getting Antonio killed…” He punched him again. “That’s for almost getting me killed…” Punch. “That’s for ditching the deal with the Russians…” Punch. “That’s for calling me a liar…” Punch. “That’s for making me hurt you…” Punch. “That’s because I just don’t like you, and this is for disrespecting my mother, who was murdered by a piece of scum, drug-user just like you.” He finished, and began repeatedly punching him, until Finn’s whole face was gushing blood. Finn never even got a shot in.

While all of this was happening, Vanessa was screaming and crying on her knees… She still hadn’t moved from the foot of the stairs where Bellamy had told her to stay. Damian was in shock at first, seeing Bellamy’s wild, almost feral behavior, but when Bellamy began to repeatedly punch him, he snapped out of it. He ran over and dragged Bellamy off Finn who rolled on his side spitting blood out of his mouth.

The second Damian pulled Bellamy off Finn, Bellamy turned on his father and swing. Damian was able to duck, but Bellamy kept coming at him. Damian grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him against the wall, repeatedly calling his name as he began to shake the struggling man hoping to snap him out of it, all while ducking blows.

“Should we help?” Antonio asked.

Murphy replied sarcastically. “I am not getting shot, again mind you, for trying to pull him out of a good old fashion brawl… Not today. I will, however, look for some great anger management classes for him to take. Personally I think this method is very therapeutic… But, that’s just me.”

Miller said, “Seriously, no. We’ve all seen him when he gets like this, and someone will get shot. Only one person can pull him out of this and I don’t think…”

He was cut off by a familiar voice shouting. “BELLAMY ALEXANDER BLAKE!!!”

“…Oh great. She is here. Well I guess we won’t be covering up a murder today, Amelia Collins is here to save the day people.” Miller finished.

Bellamy was in the middle of swinging, when he heard his Nonni’s voice. He dropped his hand and stood up tall and straight, brushing his father off him. “Nonni… Where have you been? You missed all the fun.” Bellamy stated in an innocent voice with a matching face, although his blood spattered shirt and bloody, bruised knuckles contradicted his tone and expression.

Amelia Collins’ face looked stern to everyone in the room, but her gaze on Bellamy was filled with pride and amusement. “I’ve been here since the beginning, _tesoro (darling)_.”

“Oh…” Bellamy said sheepishly.

“Nonna, get him, he’s gone crazy.” Finn spat out, along with a tooth, as blood was still gushing from his mouth.

Vanessa, still sobbing, started to crawl over to her son who was lying in a supine position on the floor.

“I don’t think so Finn… I think he was well within his right to act after you’re behavior and words tonight. I would suggest you stop talking… Best to quit while you’re ahead and all that.” Amelia replied primly.

Bellamy heard Murphy talking and turned to see him on the phone.

“… Uh-huh, yes I do know what time it is, but I need this info now… What are you doing right now, huh, playing Candy Crush? ... Yeah, that’s what I thought. Just tell me the behavioral symptoms needed to accept people into this class… Yes … Yes… What you’re describing is very accurate… Can I get times and date for those classes… Great… Hold on.” Murphy cover the phone’s mouth speakers and asked Bellamy, lowly, “Skip, are you free Saturday?”

“No.” He said. Murphy turned back to his phone and responded to the person on the other end, “Saturday won’t work. Any other days? Better yet, just print me a list of times and dates and I’ll be by at a regular time to pick them up… Yes… Yes… Great. One last question… Do you give out certificates, because I’m thinking of having his framed and giving it to him as his Christmas present?” Murphy looked up, and noticed everyone watching him. “Gotta go.” He said and quickly hung up.

There was an awkward silence in the room for a beat before Murphy burst out saying, “It was Miller’s idea!” Repeatedly jabbing his index finger at the other man accusingly, staring wide eyed at Bellamy like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Bellamy just rolled his head at the ceiling, contemplating praying for celestial help. He looked back down in time to catch the tail end of Murphy sticking his tongue out at a bewildered looking Miller. Before he could do anything. A weak voice coming from his half-brother said, “I hate you so much. You took everything from me.”

Bellamy chucked darkly while walking over and squatting down. He said, “I don’t exactly hate you, but if you were on fire, and I had water… I’d drink it.” He turned grave and said, “Oh, and for your information, I have killed no man that didn’t already have death gunning for him, so keep that in mind. I don’t want to see you or hear of you for the rest of the week. If I do, I will find you and torture you, for days, in the club basement… You may be next in line, but you will learn not to cross me or disobey me.” His voice was firm.

He stood again, and walked over to his grandmother. He grabbed her hands and squeezed them lightly. “I’ll see you later this evening, since its Thursday, for our weekly dinner, right Nonni?” He asked in what appeared to everyone else as a normal voice, but Amelia could hear the timidness, hesitancy, and fear in his voice. It was almost as though he thought he would be rejected. Amelia gave a brilliant, reassuring smile and nodded. She squeezed his hands back and reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek, whispering Italian in his ear as she pulled away, “ _I love you, my beautiful and talented grandson. Never doubt that.”_ She patted his cheek twice before going back down the hallway, where she came from.

He turned around, knowing he had one last person he had to confront before he could leave. His father signaled for his two guys to help Vanessa get Finn up, who had passed out again. She led them up the stairs, with the two men carrying the unconscious man between them.

He walked over to his father. They looked so much alike, same dark curls and same tanned skin.

“What are you doing?” Bellamy asked, pausing to see if he got a response. His father just stared at him with an unreadable expression. When he got no response, he continued, “What in the world are you thinking at least? Do you want people to come after you because you’re weak? Notice I said you… I can take care of myself and my guys can take care of themselves. I have a reputation, and actions that back-up my reputation. Tonight at the meeting with the Russians, Nykoli heard Finn was going to be there, and decided to bring only half the money thinking he was going to con Finn into accepting that amount. It has already gotten out that Finn is weak, a pansy, and most importantly, a push over. I am telling you right now, I will not die or have any of my men die for the foolishness of your other son. Either start training him to take over, and yank that silver spoon out of his mouth that his momma placed there when he was born, or find someone to take over that knows what they are doing. I am sick and tired of this whole mess. I’ll leave you with this last little thought. Tonight, when Blaine tried to shoot Antonio, and I pushed him out of the way, I shot Blaine right between the eyes. That is how I treat people who try to harm me and my people, as threats that must be neutralized. I will have no problem treating Finn in that capacity if he becomes a threat. I do not want to see you either, for the rest of the week. I need space to cool down, so don’t call, don’t visit, and don’t send Uncle Marcus to talk to me. I. Will. Not. Be. Happy.” He enunciated. “Spend the rest of the week and the weekend cleaning Finn up and detoxing him. The first 48 hours are the worst, so… Have fun with that. Later dad.” With that he ushered his guys out the door, closing it as he went, not even waiting for his father to respond. He knew he would catch hell about it later, but he also hoped his father heeded his wishes to stay away.

As they started walking down the steps, Bellamy grabbed his jacket from Antonio and stated in a weary voice, “I’ll see you guys later.”

They said their good-byes and departed. On the 30 minute drive to his apartment, Bellamy thought of his guys, and how far they would go for him. He thought about each of his guys, and how he came to know each of them…

_Two months into sophomore year, Bellamy walked in on a fellow sophomore kid spray painting the walls in the boy’s bathroom with the circle-A symbol of anarchy in red. Bellamy had decided that this was more interesting than stupid science, so he sat back and watched the kid work. After about ten minutes the kid turned around and noticed Bellamy leaning against the sink._

_“Can I help you with something?” The guy asked apprehensively._

_“Yeah,” Bellamy answered. “What’s your name?”_

_“John Murphy, but everyone just calls me Murphy. You’re Bellamy, right? Bellamy Blake?” Murphy asked curiously. Everyone knew who Bellamy Blake was. At their private school, all the girls wanted to be with him, and all the guys wanted to be him, but the dude was practically a loner. It kind of surprised Murphy he was even talking to him right now._

_“Yeah that’s me. Now, tell me Murphy. Its third period now, how are you going to go through the rest of your day with that red paint all over your shirt, and not get caught for this destruction of school property?” Bellamy asked, sincerely curious to hear his answer._

_Murphy cursed realizing his mistake. “And I’m on my last strike too. One more and I’m gone.” He muttered loud enough for Bellamy to hear._

_“Alright… I’m going to help you.” Bellamy decided after a moment of thought. Murphy looked shocked to have a stranger offer help and not judge him straight off the bat._

_“Excuse me?” Murphy said in disbelief._

_“Do you not want my help?” Bellamy asked with a raised eyebrow._

_“No… No I’m not saying that, but why would you help me?” He asked._

_Bellamy studied Murphy intently, and said, “There is something more to you that is worth saving John Murphy, not this attention seeker that is possessing your body. Is that why you are the way that you are? To get attention from your parents and from teachers who think lowly of you?”_

_Murphy gulped in embarrassment and nodded slowly saying, “My adopted parents work a lot and are never home. The only time I see them is when the school calls to say I’ve done something wrong. It’s… a lonely life I live. Teachers think I’m stupid because I have a bit of ADHD and can’t seem to sit still, so they treat me different from everyone else.”_

_Bellamy pushed of the sink and walked over to the insecure teen. He laid a hand on his shoulder and said “Stick with me, and I’ll give you something you seem to crave.”_

_“What’s that?”_

_“A life where you know who you are, where you stand, and where you’re fully accepted… A family. It’s a harsh but rewarding life. Do you accept?” Bellamy asked._

_Murphy nodded solemnly and stood straighter. “Yes, I do.”_

_Bellamy nodded. “Okay then. A teacher will be in here in three minutes to check the bathroom. Trade shirts with me, and wash the paint off your hands.” Bellamy directed._

_Exactly three minutes later, a male teacher walked in to see a paint covered Bellamy supposedly observing his work, and Murphy drying his hands. Everyone knew who Bellamy Blake’s family was, so he was often treated like royalty by the staff. No one wanted to make him, his father, or his uncle angry._

_“Mr. Blake what is the meaning of this?” Mr. Wilde asked._

_“Mr. Wilde! What do you think of my mural? I painted this as part of my history project on the French Revolution.” Bellamy said innocently. “Isn’t it just great?”_

_“Yes, Mr. Blake, it’s a wonderful mural, but must it be on the boy’s bathroom wall?” Mr. Wilde asked nervously._

_“Oh… Well I thought it was as good of place as any. I have no art class to take that will allow me to unleash my hidden talent, since the school doesn’t offer art as an elective. Now that I think on it though, talent can’t be taught. Any obviously I have a ton of talent, so I guess I really don’t need an art class.” Bellamy said._

_“That’s all fine and great Mr. Blake, but the wall…” Mr. Wilde trailed off._

_“Does the maintenance closet have paint? I’ll gladly stay after school and paint over this, after I have a picture of it of course.” Bellamy negotiated._

_Mr. Wilde hesitated, debating whether or not to report the teenager. Bellamy saw the man’s uncertainty and decided to make the decision for him._

_“I think it would be best if you just allowed me to paint over it and then pretend this little incident didn’t happen… I would hate for the school to get into trouble with my dad and uncle for not monitoring my whereabouts, and then punishing me for being creative and expressive.” Bellamy paused as though thinking intently, “Sounds like discrimination and grounds for a law suit.” Bellamy looked up at the man. “Aren’t you the law studies teacher? Can they do that?”_

_“Y-yes Mr. Blake.” He stopped, cleared his throat, and began speaking again. “Let’s not be hasty though. I think repainting the wall sounds like a fair punishment…”_

_Bellamy knew what the teacher was trying to pull and said harshly. “And this incident won’t go on my school record.”_

_“O-o-of c-c-course, M-M-Mr. B-Blake.” The man stuttered._

_“Great!” Bellamy said cheerily. “It will be done by the end of the day. Would you mind terribly getting me the paint?”_

_The man nodded and scrambled from the restroom._

_Bellamy looked over to Murphy, who was watching him with awe. He raised his index finger and pointed it at Murphy._

_“You’re repainting the wall, and then coming for dinner at my place. I’ll let you meet my dad and uncle. We’ll talk and I’ll explain, in detail, about what you agreed to and your training.”_

_Murphy nodded bravely with no trace of fear or regret about his decision, and that’s exactly what happened._

_From that day forward, Murphy became Bellamy’s shadow. Murphy knew Bellamy saved him from more than just being kicked out of school that day… He saved him from a lonely adolescence and possibly a prison sentence when he was an adult._

_Bellamy was the first person to see his potential as a design artist, and suggested he look into architecture, which is what he majored in during college._

Miller was the next brother he brought into the fold…

_Around two months after Murphy became Bellamy’s first crew member, they both stumbled across Miller._

_School had just let out, and Bellamy and Murphy were on their way to Bellamy’s place to work on homework as well as Murphy’s training._

_“But I just don’t understand why I’ve got to do combat training…” Murphy whined. “The guy who’s teaching me is a dinosaur, or possibly as old as a dinosaur. We’re talking Jurassic Park brought back memories… Like his first pet was a T-Rex, and he named him Rexy.” Murphy jabbered on._

_They walked past the mouth of an alley, where Bellamy spotted three big guys beating the snot out of this teenager. He told Murphy to be quiet, and took three steps into the ally. He dropped his backpack on the ground and picked up a hollow metal pipe that was leaning against the ally wall. He took two more steps and reached the first guy._

_He raised the pipe and swung down hard, hitting the guy in the knee. The guy fell to the ground clutching his busted knee. Bellamy dropped the pipe, and punched the second guy that came at him, hard enough to feel the guys nose break. He felt more than saw the last guy come at him from behind, and quickly ducked as he swung. Bellamy spun around swiping the guys’ legs out from under him and he dropped to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete, knocking him out. The second guy came at him again and Bellamy let him get in close, so he could spin him around and put him in a choke hold, holding him there ‘til he passed out. The first guy with the busted knee was still on the ground whimpering._

_Bellamy turned to a shocked Murphy, and said “THAT’S why you go to combat training.”_

_Murphy grinned and said, “I’ll stick with the guy, who I swear must have taken his driver’s test on a dinosaur, if you promise I’ll be able to do that.”_

_A groan pulled the two guys attention to the beat boy trying to pull himself off the ground. They rushed to help him up. He was beat pretty badly, but he could walk with assistance._

_“What’s your name man?” Murphy asked._

_“Nathan Miller.” The kid answered breathlessly, wincing as he moved._

_“I’m Murphy, that’s Bellamy. He’s a badass.” Murphy stated a bit obviously._

_Bellamy told Murphy to hold Miller up for a minute, quickly wiped down the metal pipe, and retrieved his backpack. He handed the bag to Murphy and took over helping Nathan walk. Bellamy decided to take him back to his place. His uncle wouldn’t be back until late, and they had access to a doctor that could look Nathan over._

_When they got there, Bellamy laid Nathan on the couch and called the family doctor._

_While they were waiting, Bellamy asked, “How old are you Nathan?”_

_“Please, call me Miller. Everyone does. I’m sixteen.” He responded. So he was the same age as Bellamy and Murphy._

_“So you want to talk to me and tell me why those men were after you?” Bellamy asked straight to the point._

_Miller looked at the ceiling and spoke. “Those guys work for a loan shark, looking for their money.”_

_“Okay, and did you take a loan out, because to be honest with you Miller, you don’t look like the type to take out a loan with a loan shark. You’re too smart.”_

_Miller looked at Bellamy and said “My dad took out the loan when he was laid off due to the company cutting down on staff. He used it on rent and alcohol. When he couldn’t find a job, I dropped out of school and got three small jobs to try and pay it off. It’s just not enough with our living expenses.”_

_There was knock at the door, and Bellamy answered it. He ushered the doctor in and let him examine Miller. Miller looked nervous and twitchy. He flinched every time the doctor touched him. After the doctor was done with his scan, he declared Miller had no broken bones, and with a few days of rest, he’d be good as new. He gave Miller a small bottle of painkillers, then left, but not before informing Bellamy that some of his bruises were pretty old… At least a week._

_Miller gave Bellamy the bottle and said, “I don’t need these, and I won’t take them… I don’t like any types of drugs. I have a high pain threshold, so I’ll be fine without them.”_

_Those words confirmed Bellamy’s suspicion. “He beats you, doesn’t he?” Bellamy asked bluntly._

_“Yeah…” Miller said nonchalantly, as though it wasn’t a big deal. “A time or two when he’s really drunk.”_

_“Okay, and what are you going to do about that? The way I see it, you have four options… the first three end with you dying. Option one is your dad beating you so bad on a drunken binge that you don’t recover and die. Option two is the loan shark comes after you again, and he kills you… Probably slowly. Option three is you work yourself into an early grave by the time your 20. Option four, my favorite, is that I help you. I’ll pay the loan shark off, set your dad straight, and get you back in school.” Bellamy finished._

_“What’s the price?” Miller stated suspiciously._

_Bellamy grinned, “I like you Miller. The price is you give the offer I’m about to make you, some serious thought. If you decline, I will still help you, so your answer has no impact on that.”_

_“Okay, what’s the offer?” Miller asked curiously._

_“You come and be a part of my crew. So far it’s just me and Murphy there,” He said pointing over his shoulder at Murphy, who was lying horizontally on the back of the opposite couch reading a People magazine issue. He didn’t even look up from the article he was reading, he just waved. “But, I’ve got a spot open with your name on it if you want it. I’ll teach you to protect and stand up for yourself. You’ll be untouchable because of who you’re associated with. You’ll have a family, brothers, to call your own. Now, the price as you so eloquently put it, is it’s a dangerous life, and you can’t leave once you’re in.” Bellamy explained seriously._

_Miller thought for a moment and looked up, “I’m in.”_

_“Great! T-shirts will be made next week. I’m thinking ‘Team Lost Boys’ written across the back… Whatcha think Miller?” Murphy asked looking up from his magazine._

_From then on, two became three. Bellamy paid the loan shark off with money out of his own savings, and got Miller into the same private school he and Murphy went to, on scholarship._

_When Bellamy met David Miller, Miller’s dad, for the first time, Bellamy knew he wasn’t necessarily a bad man, just a man who fell on hard times and turned to the bottle for comfort and turned on his son to take out his frustrations. Bellamy got him into the NYPD police academy, so he could train to be a cop. When he told the older man of the job opportunity, David declined saying he didn’t need charity. Bellamy explained he it wasn’t charity, and it wasn’t even for him. It was for his son. He kindly told him if he didn’t quit the bottle and take the job, then Bellamy would move Nathan out, and David would never talk to his son again. It was clear to David his son had gotten in deep with Bellamy, and he prayed his son knew what he was doing. After that, things were pretty cut and dry. David accepted the job, agreed to get help for his alcohol abuse problem, and took Bellamy’s fervent promise to dismember him, slowly, if he ever laid his hands on Miller again, to heart._

_Miller never regretted his decision to join. He got a family that never hurt him or put him down. They took care of each other, looked out for each other, and would lay their lives down for one another. Miller knew he owed Bellamy more than just his life… He owed him his father’s life too, and his father knew that as well._

_One of the three jobs Miller worked for a short period of time before meeting Bellamy was as a lowly construction worker. He loved that type of work, and knew that’s what he wanted to do. So, in college he got a degree in construction management._

Lucca and Antonio were discovered roughly a year and a half later…

_During senior year in high school, 18-year-old Bellamy was preparing for not just college, but also getting his crew officiated, up, and running. In order to do that, he needed at least two more member to be fully functioning. So, in-between senior year papers and project deadlines, and evaluations of Miller and Murphy, who had to undergo these evaluations in order to become made-men because they weren’t full blooded Italian, Bellamy was searching for two new crew members. It was rough._

_Everyone he came into contact with, just rubbed him the wrong way. Either they were too pansy, too stubborn, too disobedient, or too spoiled. It was just all wrong, but everything changed during the holiday breaks._

_Bellamy caught word from his father that two of his Capos were having trouble with their 16-year-old sons… Lucca Lombrozo and Antonio Boretti. They both grew up together in the life and had recently gotten into drugs, and were planning to drop out of school._

_It was the big break Bellamy had been looking for. So, a week after he got the tip from his father, he gathered Murphy and Miller and told them about their two new prospects. Both were apprehensive, but trusted Bellamy’s judgement and gut… After all, that was what lead Bellamy to accept and give the both of them a chance._

_So they decided to go out that night and look for them… They had a hunch the two guys would be at the house of a drug dealer named Kendrick Torres, located in the rough neighborhood of Hunts Point. While packing their gear and passing photos of the two teenagers around to memorize their faces, Miller got a phone call from his dad, who had been on the police force for about a year now. He had become Bellamy’s police informant, when he needed information that the police had. Miller’s dad warned his son there was a drug raid going down in Hunts Point at a drug dealer’s house. When given specifics, the boys realized the drug raid was going down in an hour, and their two guys would be right in the middle of it._

_They quickly jumped into the car Bellamy was borrowing from his dad, and booked it to the drug dealer’s house. They made it in 20 minutes. They parked around the corner, out of view of the house and street in front of the house, and hoofed it through various backyards and alleys ‘til they reached their destination. Once they reached the back door, Miller picked the lock and all three boys pulled their guns. They all had gloves on, so they didn’t leave prints. Sneaking through the door, they entered a kitchen which was the drug dealer’s meth lab, and preceded down a hallway toward the voices in a room off to the right. They walked in, guns raised and pulled their two guys to their feet. There were three other males in the room that held their hands up when they saw the guns. On the coffee table was a ton of crystal meth and various wads of cash. Once Antonio and Lucca were handcuffed, Bellamy told Miller and Murphy they weren’t leaving any evidence._

_This was a test for both boys… To see if they were ready to enter the harsh shark-eat-shark world that was the mafia. Both boys looked at him expectantly. He turned and shot one man in the forehead. Bellamy gestured for them to each kill one of the remaining men, and both did so without even blinking or hesitating. Bellamy instructed both boy’s to take Lucca and Antonio out the back of the house and start toward the cars. They did as they were told._

_The cops were 15 minutes out by Bellamy’s estimation. He planned to blow up the house and make it look like the lab exploded. He walked into the dead guys’ make shift meth lab and began to hunt down their stash of Red phosphorus. Red phosphorus, when it is heated to 250 degrees, is highly flammable. When he found it, he set it on the burner, and turned the burner on high. He walked briskly back into the living room grabbed the zippo lighter off the coffee table and lite the drapes on fire, and then tossed the still flaming zippo onto the couch. The he quickly exited through the back of the house, walking toward the car up the street. Not five minutes later, an explosion was heard._

_When Bellamy got to the running car, he slipped into the front passenger seat, and let Miller drive them to an abandoned warehouse at the docks. Miller and Murphy unloaded the two boys, and brought them inside. They were both sat in two chairs in the middle of the room, and when Bellamy was sure he had their attention and that they were alert and coherent, he spoke._

_“Alright, this is how it’s going to go. I am going to offer to get you both clean, back in school, and give you places in my crew. It is up to you whether you whether or not you both take what I am giving you, which is a second chance, and use it to better your lives, make your father’s proud, and become successful. Or you could refuse my help, and I turn you over to the authorities with a little baggie of cocaine, from one of the shipments we receive every week, in each of your pockets. I pulled you out of that house, because the raid that was about to go down would have landed you both in jail and ruined the full live you both have in front of you. If you choose to accept the help I’m offering you, there are a couple of things you should know. First off, I hate drugs… Hate them with a passion. Once you’re clean, that’s it. You don’t relapse, you don’t sell the stuff, you don’t touch the stuff, hell don’t even think of touching the stuff. You feel yourself slipping, you come to me. You got me?” Bellamy asked._

_Both boys nodded._

_“Second. I believe education is important. You will go to school every day, and graduate on time, with at least one college acceptance. No excuses. Thirdly. You do anything that makes me look bad or weak, I’ll make an example of you, and it won’t be pretty. Relapse and start using again, and I’ll put a bullet through your brain, and help you meet your maker faster than the drugs will. I treat my crew as family. If you accept what I’m offering you, you become family, and you’ll find I’ll go to hell and back for my family. You won’t be looked down upon for your past, because it’s in the past. It’s as simple as that. Now what will it be boys?” Bellamy finished._

_The boys looked at each other and nodded. “We’ll take you offer, sir.” Lucca answered with Antonio nodding for himself._

_The three days of detoxing were hard… On everyone. After that period was over, they went back to school. They continued to battle addiction all through their sophomore year, while juggling their school work and the minimal amount of training they needed. They only needed minimal training because they grew up in the life, and had been learning all those lessons from the time they were children._

_When they went to college three years later, Lucca got a degree in energy management and environment, while Antonio got a degree in Security Management._

_All four of his guys came to work at BGE after they all had graduated college. Miller was in charge of the construction aspect, Murphy the architecture, and later Lucca was in charge of the energy companies, regardless of whether they were renewable or not, and any environmental issues they encountered with properties._

_Antonio became Bellamy’s Chief Security Officer, and as such, coordinated the security for BGE headquarters as well as handling the security Bellamy used, writing security protocols for all BGE subsidiaries, and handling all security for the club._

Bellamy pulled into the garage of his apartment building at 5:15 A.M. He was exhausted. The constant surges of adrenaline was draining.

He rode the elevator up to his apartment, walked to his bedroom and stopped at his nightstand. He set his gun, phone, wallet, and keys down, and then headed straight for his bathroom. He took a shower to wash all the grime and blood off. When he stepped out, he slipped into a pair of boxers and grabbed the big medicine box from beneath his sink. He sifted through its contents until he found a suture kit. Laying the contents out on the counter, he diligently began the process of sewing the wound on his arm back together after thoroughly cleaning it. Once it was stitched together, he wrapped the wound, and took two antibiotic pills to fight any infections that could possibly arise. He left everything where it was an exited the bathroom heading for the bed. He practically collapsed on the bed, and thanked the heaven’s he didn’t have to be in at work until 11 A.M. tomorrow. He set his alarm, and crawled up the bed. He was out like a light before his head even hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to the people who commented, bookmarked, and left me kudos on my story last chapter... I cannot express how much I appreciate the support and feedback. Keep it up please!
> 
> SPOILERS FOR NEXT CHAPTER: Bellamy has dinner with Nonni and a phone call with Jake. We also get a flashback of the boys first vacation together! So until next Friday...
> 
> -Redhead17x


	5. Old Friends and New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps... So I know this chapter is being posted a little earlier than normal, but since I'll be camping tomorrow, I figured posting a day early would be cool with all of you ;) Now, I've been getting reviews asking when Clarke will be getting here, and I'm here to tell you... SOON! I want to firmly establish Bellamy's life without her, so we can truly see the change with her. Get me? This chapter is pretty big, and very important, so read carefully please so you don't miss anything. Oh, and I've got a special offer at the end, so READ EVERYTHING...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 5- Old Friends and New**

_Looking around, Bellamy’s eight-year-old self realized he was standing in the convenience store. He looked down to see his mother’s dead body on the floor at his feet, gazing at him with glassy unseeing eyes. Her blood still covered his hands. Looking up, he saw Cage standing in front of him with his father, uncle and Nonni all kneeling, facing Bellamy. His father and uncle looked grim, and his Nonni had silent tears streaming down her face. He watched as Cage grinned and shot each person in the back of the head. As they all fell lifelessly to the floor, Cage began to laugh maniacally. Before Bellamy could move, a hand reached out grasping his wrist. Looking down, his dead mother regarded him with cold vacant eyes and told him in a raspy voice, “It’s all your fault, all of this happened because of you.”_

Bellamy woke gasping for breath. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest. His hands were shaking and he was sweating. He remembered his nightmare vividly, and it felt so real. He took a couple of minutes to calm down and reassure himself it was just a nightmare… His people were still alive, and Cage was dead by his own hand. Dreams like that one were a common re-occurrence for him… He had one every time he closed his eyes to sleep. He knew it was his fault his mother was dead. If he had just waited a little longer to ask to stop, she would still be alive. He fought every day to ensure no one else he loved died because of him.

After he was back in control, he noticed the time. It was 9:14 A.M. Bellamy knew it was pointless to try to go back to sleep. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Pain rippled across his collar bone and down his arm every time he moved it. He hoped he hadn’t ripped any stitches in his sleep.

Standing, he took a look around his spacious room. He had a king sized bed with a pale grey comforter, the head board situated against the wall, with two doors on the opposite wall that lead to his huge walk-in closet and his en suite bathroom. There was a door in the shared wall that connected the two. There was a huge flat screen T.V. that dropped down from the ceiling directly across from the bed, in between the two doors. On the right side of his bed was wall of floor to ceiling windows and a sliding glass door that lead to his balcony made with special smart glass that went from clear to opaque on command. Currently the glass was clear. Bellamy hardly used the special glass, except for the rare occasion when he slept in… That usually happened when he’d been up all night dealing with mafia business, and needed to sleep in. The main door leading to the foray was on the opposite wall of the windows. He had two nightstands on each side of the bed, and a small lounge with white furniture between the bed and the main door, complete with a mini fridge. His room was filled with white, grey, and black hues because they calmed and relaxed him. The room was carpeted throughout and into the closet. The bathroom had marble tiling like the rest of the apartment.

Bellamy carefully made up the bed and moved into his bathroom. He saw the mess he’d made the night before, stitching his arm up, but before he attempted to clean it up, he checked his stitches. He was relieved to see none of them had been torn out whilst he was in the midst of his nightmare. He quickly re-bandaged his arm and got to work cleaning up the mess. He threw the needle and the packaging in the garbage and grabbed the metal trash can from under the sink that he kept there specifically for times like these. He threw his bloody T-shirt, towels and gauze in the can and grabbed the matches from the med kit. Bellamy lit one up, tossed it in, and watched it all burn to ash. After, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and tried to tame his unruly curls.

When he was done, he hit the light switch and walked through the door that led from his bathroom to his closet and picked out a black suit, crisp white button down and a dark blue tie to wear for work. He changed quickly, being mindful of his injured arm, and left the closet. He walked over to his night stand and picked up his gun, tucking it into the waistband of his trousers at his back and covering it with the tail of his suit jacket. He slipped his phone into the breast pocket on the inside of his suit jacket, and put his wallet and keys into his pants pockets.  He walked out of his room into the foyer.  

He made his way into his kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. Standing at the counter waiting for it to brew, Bellamy thought how strange it felt to not have gone for his morning run, or even to his building’s gym, before getting dressed for work. He normally ran three to five miles in the morning to stay in shape, and start his day right, but after the events that occurred in the wee hours of the morning and not getting as much sleep as he wanted to, he was just not up for it. He’d just make sure to run a full five miles tomorrow.

The coffee maker finished brewing his single cup of coffee, and he quickly took a sip. He felt the hot liquid waking his body up with each swallow. He didn’t feel hungry, but couldn’t remember the last time he ate something, so he knew he had to eat. Bellamy wasn’t a great cook, but he could handle the basics, and stuff out of a box. He decided to scramble a couple of eggs with cheese. As he worked silently in his big kitchen, he thought over what the day would encompass.

He knew he probably had a thousand things to sign off on for the big deal he just closed, and a meeting with the head of his acquisitions department and his real estate planning department, so they could look at what the next major project would be, but other than that he’d have to look at his schedule. He had dinner with Nonni at six o’clock, so there would definitely be no working late for him, not if he didn’t want a lecture on the merits of being on time. As he ate his breakfast, he texted Adam and told him when they were going to leave. Then he went through his emails, flagging the ones that needed to be responded to and taken care of when he got into the office, and deleting the stupid useless ones.

Finishing his breakfast, Bellamy put his dishes in the sink, washed them and put them away. Bellamy gathered everything, before slipping on his shoes, and taking the last sip of his coffee, dropping the cup gently in the empty sink. He headed for the door, pausing to grab his messenger bag, and then was out the door and in the elevator. On the ride down, Bellamy savored the last moments of peace. He could feel deep in his gut that his day was going to suck starting from the second the doors in front of him opened. As the elevator came to a stop, Bellamy braced for the long day ahead, praying silently to whomever would listen, for his sanity to survive the day.

As the doors opened, he quickly began walking across the lobby to the main door, seeing Adam waiting for him like he did every morning… Just as he was approximately half way across the lobby, the sound of someone calling his name in a high pitched screeching voice reached his ears, grating on his already sensitive nerves, making him pause and close his eyes. His first challenge of the day was right behind him. Turning he forced a small cool smile at the widely-grinning receptionist who had called his name.

“Hello, Bethany.” Bellamy said in a forced polite voice.

Her grin faltered for a second, but then came back full force, almost making Bellamy wince… Almost. “It’s Tiffany actually… Perhaps when you get home from work and I get off, we could get to know each other better? Maybe at your place, you know… So you don’t forget my name again.” She finished in what he assumed was a sultry voice. In reality it just irritated him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Bellamy tried to decline politely and turned, walking away. It wasn’t the first time, or the second for that matter, that this had happened. While Bethany or Tiffany, whatever her name was, was a very beautiful woman, her voice and greedy green eyes rubbed him the wrong way. She was just like the rest of the women in this world… Out for sex or his money.

Of course, she couldn’t just let him reject her again. She just couldn’t seem to take no for an answer. “Well maybe tomorrow?” She asked hopeful.

“No.” Bellamy said in a clipped voice still walking to the door. When he was two steps away from the door, she said something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Oh well I guess… I’m sure the police will have a field day trying to figure out what has a CEO like Bellamy Blake leaving in the middle of the night, staying out at all hours, and coming home with blood on his shirt.” She said in a fake innocent voice looking down at different papers on her desk, completely missing the way the man tensed and stopped in his tracks.

Bellamy turned and walked back to her, thinking the whole time, _Oh, you poor stupid girl, what made you think that threatening me was a good idea?_

He still had a polite smile on his face for the lobby security camera to see. When he reached her, he turned and positioned his head in the camera’s blind spot, so if anyone was watching, they couldn’t read his lips as he spoke to this woman.

“I dare you to say anything.” Bellamy said in a menacing voice.

“You won’t do anything to me…” She said almost smugly. “Because you’ll be in jail.”

He studied her face carefully and laughed. “That’s really actually what you think, isn’t it?” Bellamy snickered again, finding true amusement with this insignificant little girl who thought it would be nice to poke a bear. “Well, let me tell you something _cagna (bitch)_ … I have access to the best lawyers in the world. I would never see the inside of a jail, much less the inside of cell. Now, you have become a threat to me, and I take threats seriously. If you so much as breath in a way I think is suspicious, I’ll have you fired so fast your head will spin. Think of going to the cops, and I’ll slap a lawsuit on you for slander and blackball you in the United States… You won’t even be able to flip burgers for the rest of your pathetic life. You got me?” Bellamy asked gravely.

Tiffany… Bethany… Whatever her name was, just nodded with a pale, slightly frightened face.

“Great…” Bellamy smiled coldly. “Have a good day.”

He turned and walked out the front door of his building. Adam was leaning against the SUV. When he saw his boss, he stood up and opened the door. Bellamy slid into the back seat, and Adam closed the door, walking around to get in the drivers seat.

The drive to his office building was uneventful. Bellamy continued to check emails and noticed the date. It was the third Thursday of the month, which meant Jake would be calling later in the evening. He made it a point to call Bellamy every month to check in with the younger man and make sure he was doing okay. Bellamy loved when he called because he often got advise and stories about the ‘good ole days’ as Jake liked to call them. Bellamy definitely had some things to talk with him about this month.

It took about 15 minutes to get from Bellamy’s Upper East Side penthouse on Park Avenue to Blake Tower, his massive office building in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. When Adam pulled up, he parked and walked around the car, opening the door for Bellamy to step out. Walking into the building, Bellamy wore a fierce expression… No one dared to stop him for any reason.

Once he was settled in his office, he started to boot up his computer, and called in his secretary to give him a run-down of the day’s events. Not two minutes later, his secretary, Roma Lewis, waltzed through the door wearing a skimpy outfit that belonged at a club scene, not in his place of business. Bellamy felt a headache developing as his annoyance level and blood pressure spiked again for the second time that morning. God, he needed a cigarette… He had a bad habit of stress smoking.

“What are you wearing?” Bellamy growled through gritted teeth. Why did people feel like today would be a good day to try his patience? Any other day, he would have the fortitude to deal with her and her advances, but not today. Everyone knew that the CEO had strict rules against fucking one of his staff members… Things tended to get messy with office relationships, so he denied all advances from women that worked for him. He had a policy that allowed work relationships as long as the two people were from different departments. The ridiculousness of the woman in front of him was simply astounding.

She pouted and said, “Work clothes, Sir. Do they bother you? I can take them off…” She said saucily.

Now, Bellamy knew he was a good looking man. It often worked to his advantage to have a nice face, but today it was doing him no favors. He stood to his full 6’2 height, gave her a menacing glare and stated in a cold voice… “If you don’t go change right now into something more appropriate, Miss Lewis, you’re fired. This is your first and last warning. Now, get out of my sight.”

She scrambled from the room knowing she had to keep her job if she wanted to make her real boss happy. She vowed to herself to try and seduce Bellamy Blake again at a later date.

Once she was gone, Bellamy sighed wearily, rubbing his temple where his head was throbbing. He pulled up the calendar and noticed that other than the meeting with the department meeting and a meeting with the CEO of the North Carolina steel plant so they could sign paperwork, his day was relatively quiet with no other major meetings. It appeared he would be able to make it to his grandmother’s house for dinner without being late.

Roma returned dressed more presentably for work, and was very quiet… She knew she was walking on thin ice. She was on her best behavior for the rest of the day.

Things were relatively okay, that is, until shit hit the fan when he went in for his last meeting. The CEO of the steel plant decided to try and slip in a couple of previously not agreed upon clauses that allowed him to stay on to run the place and jack up the previously very generous price Bellamy was paying for the plant. The man must have taken Bellamy for a fool if he truly believed Bellamy would just sign the contract without first reading it, or at least having his lawyer, who was in fact Diego, read it. Once the deception was uncovered, Bellamy was furious. It was just plain insulting really. Bellamy grew dangerously calm. He knew the plant would go bankrupt in two months, and decided he could wait to buy it up for a small percentage of what he was originally going to pay, and he told the CEO as much. The man became sweaty and twitchy realizing his mistake. He tried to apologize, but Bellamy wouldn’t hear it. It got to the point that the man got down on his knees to beg Bellamy to forgive his mistake and buy the plant. It was completely pathetic in Bellamy’s eyes. When this happened, Bellamy turned and nodded to Diego who pulled out a back-up, revised contract with everything in place and a reduced price, and demanded that the man sign it before he changed his mind. The CEO signed quickly not even caring about the reduced price Bellamy would be paying. He left quickly and quietly after that.

By the time five o’clock came around, to say Bellamy was tired would be an understatement, but he looked forward to seeing his grandmother. He locked down his computer, grabbed his suit jacket and put it on. He checked to make sure he had everything and called Adam to get the car. He locked up his office and noticed Roma had left for the day already… Good riddance.

Downstairs Adam was waiting with the SUV, ready to open Bellamy’s door. As Bellamy got in, he told Adam where they were headed. He got a ‘Yes Sir’ in response. His grandmother lived in a two story mansion in Stamford, Connecticut which was about a 45-minute drive north of the city with no traffic… With five o’clock traffic however, it was about an hour drive.

During the drive, Bellamy called and checked in with each of his guys and let them know they were all going to get together the next day for dinner, and gave them the name of their favorite Italian place. He just happened to own it of course, so when he called his restaurant manager, Frankie, to let him know that he needed the back room set up for dinner, Frankie was only too willing to accommodate him. Bellamy’s guys were always so rowdy and lively when they went out for dinner that he had to reserve a whole space so he didn’t have to work so hard to control the chaos his guys brought with them… He could just let them be and sit back and have a good time.

By the time he was done with his phone calls, they were about five minutes from the house. Pulling up, Bellamy gazed at the house. It had seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with a huge pool and pool house on the ten-acre lot. His grandfather had it built for his grandmother when they got married. The house had been remodeled over the years and added onto a couple of times. It now included solarium for his grandmother, that she absolutely adored. He had his own bedroom here that he often used as a child, and a few times as an adult.

Walking up to the front door, he rang the doorbell and waited. He was a bit early for a change. Usually he was right on time, with a few seconds to spare. He’s grandmother’s elderly maid Gertrude answered the door and took his suit jacket. The older woman had seen a great many things in her years, so the sight of Bellamy’s gun didn’t even faze her. She just led him to the family great room and told him his grandmother would be there shortly. He just nodded and she disappeared to the dining room to set the table for dinner he presumed.

Bellamy began rolling up the sleeves of his button down as he walked over to the bar. He poured two fingers of scotch, neat, and walked to the window, loosening his tie. The bay windows looked out over the patio and the pool and further behind that, the apple orchard. To the left of the pool was the large pool house, and to the right was a flower and vegetable garden that lead to the solarium which was attached to the main house. It was a stunning view cast with shadows from the fading sun light.

“ _Bambino (Child)_.” Came his grandmother’s voice from behind him. He turned to see Amelia Collins smiling at him wearing a dirty apron. While his grandmother had aged well over the years, her dark brown hair tinged with gray strands and the few wrinkles in her face gave away that she had aged some. She was still as active as ever, always cooking or gardening. “Come along, I must check dinner. Tell me how my most wonderful grandson is?” She asked in a heavy Italian accent.

He walked over to her and she looped her arm through his guiding them toward the kitchen. “I’m doing great Nonni.” Bellamy said casually.

Amelia tutted disapprovingly. “Bellamy Alexander Blake did you just lie to you dear old Nonni?” She asked in a stunned voice. Amelia was the only person in the world allowed to use his middle name, and she loved to pull it out as often as she could.

“No, you know I would never lie to you… You would see right through it and me. Probably give me one of your famous hour long lectures too.” Bellamy said grinning cheekily.

Amelia stopped and turned, giving him a stern stare. “Fine, if you are as great as you say why did your father have to pull you off your half-brother at such an ungodly hour this morning?” She raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m pretty sure I also heard something about the possibility of only four hours of sleep in as many days if I’m not mistaken. Any reasoning behind that _nipote (grandson)_?” Her piercing sapphire blue eyes made Bellamy squirm. They turned and continued walking to the kitchen.

As they entered, Bellamy hoped to change the subject and asked, “So, what’s for dinner?”

Amelia knew exactly what her grandson was trying to pull, “We are having your favorite… Lasagna, and don’t think your escaping this discussion Mister. I’ll just wait ‘til after dinner.” Bellamy just groaned.

While dinner was finishing, they talked about the Jane Austin book Amelia had to read for her book club. Next month was going to be a Greek tragedy, but they hadn’t picked which one yet… Bellamy gave her a few suggestions. When the timer went off, Bellamy grabbed the pan of lasagna from the oven while Amelia grabbed their drinks, and they both headed to the dining room and served the food.

“So when will you be coming to mass? Father Peter has been asking about you.” Amelia Collins was a devout Catholic, like the rest of the Family was. It stemmed from their old Italian roots to be Catholic. Aurora had raised Bellamy to be a Catholic, as that was what her parents raised her to be and when he came to live in New York, his Nonni ensured he went to church every Sunday until he became old enough to make his own decisions. He still did go to church, but only about once a month. His guys often came with him. Bellamy felt it was good to have them go to church and confess their sins to Father Peter. It made them more accountable for their actions, and the forgiveness and penance eased the weight on their souls after taking so many lives… Killing was no easy thing. Although the Family was protected by clergy–penitent privilege, they often paid large sums of money as ‘offerings’ to the church, to ensure the church was happy, and the forgiveness flowed freely.

“The boys and I will be there on Sunday, Nonni.”

“I do wish you would come every Sunday, and not just once a month.” Amelia said sadly.

“Nonni, we’ve talked about this. I have my reasons, and sometimes I only get Sunday off during a week. I need a break.” Bellamy said.

Amelia signed and said, “Yes I know, _tesoro_. How have the boys been? Have they been getting into trouble?”

The conversation was light from there on, discussing some of Murphy’s funnier quips and actions, Monty and Jasper’s grades in school, and Romeo, Lucca and Miller’s recent interest in starting a prank war with Murphy, Antonio, and Diego.

“Are you going to let them?” His grandmother asked apprehensively.

Bellamy just shook his head and grinned ruefully. “No. Last time there was a prank war, it was between Murphy and Romeo over 200 dollars Murphy owed Romeo. The whole crew was divided, and it escalated from itching powder and hair dye to the point where Romeo faked his own death and pretended to come back as a ghost to haunt Murphy for not paying him the 200-dollar debt he owed him. It was crazy. Murphy was so scared he pulled his gun and shot Romeo in the shoulder! I, of course, knew none of this was happening. I now know the signs of when a prank war starts. Anyway… In the end, Romeo got his 200 dollars and, I quote, ‘a bitchin new scar for my ladies’, while Murphy still can’t watch any scary ghost movies.”

Amelia laughed at the shenanigans her grandson’s friends got up to. They were one of her main sources of amusement, and they loved to come visit her when Bellamy came for an unexpected visit… They were her honorary grandsons. After they had finished dinner, they both cleared the table and put the food away. Bellamy washed and rinsed the dishes while Amelia dried them and put them away. They continued to swap stories about their week.

Once they were all finished, they stepped out onto the back patio and sat in the deck chairs. They were both quiet until Amelia spoke.

“Talk to me dear, what haunts you? The dark circles under your eyes tell me you haven’t been sleeping, and probably not eating if I had to guess.”

Bellamy sighed. He always ended up spilling his guts to his grandmother. She was the one person in the world that never judged him or wanted something from him. He felt safe baring a small bit of his soul to her, but there was always a nagging fear in the back of his mind that if she truly knew the extent of his depravity and the horrible things he’d done, then she would reject him and cease to love him. None of it was true of course, but it was still one of his greatest fears and stopped him from telling her everything.

“It’s just nightmares Nonni… Nothing new. I’m always in that store. Haunted by dead people or watching my enemies kill the people closest to me.” He said wearily. “Sometimes I’m running in the dark, and I don’t know if I’m running from something, or toward something. As for the eating, I am eating… When I think about it.”

“Oh my darling boy. You must leave your past behind you. I fear it will one day suffocate the life from you or cause you to get distracted and hurt. What happened, happened. You cannot change it. The life you lead is dangerous, and I wish you had someone you could lean on for support. Someone you could come home to and share your day with.” Bellamy grimaced, knowing where this speech was going. “Perhaps give me great grandchildren before I die.” And there it was.

Bellamy quickly became alarmed though hearing the last word. “Is everything okay Nonni? You’re not sick are you?” Bellamy asked desperately. He couldn’t lose his grandmother... He just couldn’t.

“No, no t _esoro_. I’m not sick or anything. As far as I know I’m fit as a fiddle, but I am getting old dear. I won’t last forever, and all I want in this world, before I go to be with your grandfather, is to see my most beloved grandson happy and settled with a beautiful wife he worships and some adorable children. Not running around with a bunch of _troie_ _(sluts)_ that use him for their own personal gain.” Amelia declared.

At his confused expression, Amelia stood and walked inside. A minute later she reappeared with a week old magazine. On the cover was a photo of Echo and himself leaving one of the charity events his PR team had him to go to… You’d think just donating the money would be enough, but no, he needed to keep a healthy active public image, so that meant any organization he donated money to, he had to attend the events for. They weren’t touching or anything couple-y in the picture, but the headline still read “Billionaire Recluse and Presumed Girlfriend”. In the picture, they were simply leaving the building together… Echo had been the event planner of the gala. She had been done with work, and he had been ready to leave. She had invited him back to her place, and he had accepted, of course the magazine didn’t know that, they were simply speculating. Looking closer at the picture, Bellamy noticed that he looked quite blasé, bored even, while Echo was enthusiastically talking to him about something or other, not that he was paying any attention or could remember… Bellamy didn’t even know the photo was being taken. He was usually able to stay out of the eye of the public, and away from photographers… He’d show up every once and a while in the media, whether it was a business magazine talking about how well BGE was doing or a new project they were working on, or the occasional pictures of him attending public events, charity or otherwise, and then there were the very, very rare pictures of him with a woman.

Of course those always made sure to mention his _supposedly_ astronomically high one-night stand count, even though there was very little evidence to corroborate that... One magazine had even gone as far as to guess that the number was in the triple digits. That had been completely laughable… When that article came out with that guess, all of his guys had been actually on the floor, laughing their asses off. Not that he ever kept count or anything, because he honestly wasn’t that type of guy, but if he had to guess the number would be in the early to mid-twenties… He wasn’t exactly swimming in time… He had shit to do, companies to run, people to boss around…

The thing about being constantly painted as a playboy was… People didn’t actually know the truth. His grandmother, bless her soul, didn’t know the truth… He was no playboy. He was a man who had occasional needs that were filled by a beautiful woman, and then he moved on… It wasn’t like he had a new woman in his bed every night. Hell, he usually went months without sex. Bellamy supposed his cocky, ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude never helped dispute the image other people painted of him… Or the fact that he _was_ a bit of a player in his younger days… His _way_ younger days that is, and only a little.

Amelia asked, “Who is this girl Bellamy? The article says you’ve been spotted with her a couple of times now. They think this is your girlfriend, but I’ve never met her. Is this serious? Can I meet her? Why haven’t I met her? Are you ashamed of your Nonni?” She started firing off questions rapidly. By the last question her voice was laced with hurt.

Bellamy hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No Nonni, you can’t meet her. She’s nothing special to me. She’s just like everyone else, but she’s a good lay so I call her from time to time. It’s an arrangement we have. In no way is it serious.” God, how awkward trying to explain to your grandmother what friends with benefits was, and that he kinda-sorta had one.

Looking up, he saw his grandmother shaking her head at him. “It’s ridiculous of you to even think I would ever be ashamed of you Nonni,” Bellamy said. “or that I would have a girlfriend without you knowing about it. There is no way I would bring anyone like her to meet you. One it’s too official, and two, she isn’t good enough to meet you. You know I don’t do relationships, or the whole girlfriend thing. Hell I don’t even take a date to events I have to attend. She just happened to be there is all.” Bellamy said honestly.

“What is wrong with you boy? Why can’t you see yourself the way I see you? As the brilliant, wonderful, caring, protective, completely lovable man that you are? You deserve to find happiness, and someone that will love you and offer you just as much as you will love and give her, not… This.” She said waiving at the magazine.

Bellamy just shook his head and exclaimed, “But that’s just it Nonni, I don’t deserve that, and if I ever did find someone like that, I would just drag her down into my darkness, just like my dad did with my mom! If she had never met him, I wouldn’t be here, and she wouldn’t be dead. I can’t be the reason that a good kind, innocent girl loses her light.”

“Did your mother ever express regret about meeting your father or having you? Think long and hard about this question.” Bellamy opened his mouth, but quickly shut it at the intensity of her glare. He sat back and thought, and thought, and thought. No, she had never express regret about anything. Not when they were dirt poor and strapped for cash, or when she told him about his father and how he was forced to marry someone else. Bellamy just looked up at his Nonni. She knew the answer.

“She didn’t, did she? That’s because she loved you and she loved your father more than anything in the world… More than her own life. You didn’t get her killed, you were her pride and joy. She would, however, be appalled with the way you close yourself off and sleep around. When you find the right girl _tesoro_ , you won’t drag her into the darkness you believe shrouds you… She will bring you into the light. You will know the right girl when you meet her, and let me tell you… Not a single one of these women you bed, is her, so stop torturing and hurting yourself by associating with them. Sleeping around with these women will not bring your angel to you any faster. In fact it will only serve to hurt your relationship when you do get her.”

“I’m not as bad as they make it out to be! I swear! How am I supposed to find her anyway?” Bellamy asked desperately.

“It’s simple really. You’re not supposed to find her.” At his bewildered expression, she continued. “Stop looking for her. She will find you. If you keep trying to search for her, you will completely miss her or overlook her when she passes by, because you will be too busy off looking in the wrong direction. You must choose to be patient and believe she is out there. If you can’t trust that, trust me when I say it will be well worth the wait. Do you understand at all what I’m trying to get through that incredibly thick head of yours?” She finished playfully.

Bellamy nodded seriously and then playfully added. “You want great-grandchildren.” Amelia just grinned.

“Yes… A ton of great-grandchildren!” She exclaimed throwing her hands in the air excitedly. The shocked, slightly frightened look on Bellamy’s face caused Amelia to laugh out loud.

“Come again? Did you say a ton? You can’t be serious!” Bellamy said disbelievingly.

“Okay, Okay…” Amelia pacified. “One for each of the spare rooms that I have, at the very least. Twins or triplets share a room or course.”

“Do we even have a history of twins or triplets in our family?” Bellamy asked a little curiously but mostly worried.

Amelia thought for a moment, and replied. “You know, I don’t quite know for sure. I guess we’ll have to see huh?” She grinned mischievously.

Bellamy groaned asked, “And what of Finn? No great-grandkids from him?” Amelia sent him a skeptical look.

“Seriously dear, do you think he’ll have kids? It would take one heck of a woman to settle him down. You are looking to be my only hope.” She appeared to say glumly. Bellamy knew his grandmother though and knew she was ecstatic by the thought of having great-grandkids from him, and he couldn’t bring himself to break her by telling her she would never have great-grandchildren from him… At least biologically speaking anyway. He knew it just wasn’t in the cards for him, and he didn’t want them, even though it was expected of him. He had contemplated once or twice, the idea of adopting a kid like Marcus did him, but the idea of a kid freaked him out, and so the ideas were quickly dismissed. He stayed silent on the subject though.

They talked some more, before Bellamy decided to head home. It had been getting late, and he’d had a long day.

His grandmother sent him home with the left over lasagna, a kiss on the cheek, and a threat if him and his boys weren’t in church on Sunday, she was going to come hunt them down. The threat was taken very seriously by Bellamy, and he knew his guys would be just as frightened as well. Bellamy had faced down mad men, vicious men, men twice his size, men out for revenge, and never, not once, flinched, but the idea of a mad Amelia Collins hunting him down scared the living day lights out of him.

On the ride home, Bellamy thought over the words his grandmother had spoken to him. His mother had often scolded him as a child for his complete lack of patience. She would often say “The reward for patience, my sweet boy, will always be worth the wait.” or “Have patience. Things are always extremely difficult before they become easy.”

Growing up with his dad and uncle, he learned patience… Patience in waiting for information, or patience in waiting for the right time to act. At least he thought he had learned patience. His grandmother had told him to be patient to wait for his angel. Could he really stop sleeping around altogether and be patient? What had his grandmother meant by his past flings hurting his relationship with his angel? How was he supposed to know when he found his angel, or that she was the one, when the world was full of liars and deceivers? Everyone knew who he was and how rich he was, it would be almost impossible to find someone that would love him for him and not his bank account. God, he was so confused, and felt distraught being backed into a corner like he was. He wanted to please his grandmother and trust her, but the idea of actually finding a woman who loved him despite all of his sins, faults and transgressions seemed impossible.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling him out of his thoughts. Looking at the message, he thought God must have some type of sick humor. Here he was in the middle of debating a major lifestyle change, and he gets a text message from Echo. It’s as if though she sensed his internal conflict and wanted to tempt him.

_Hey Lover, I’m free tonight. Wanna go a couple rounds? Which hotel? –E_

He and Echo had an interesting arrangement. They met at some charity gala about two years ago… She was the event planner for that as well. She was hot, and he was frustrated. Things were tense with his dad after Bellamy had pulled a risky move with the Irish that could have ended with him getting himself killed. Lucky for him, the risk was worth the reward, and he gained a ton of respect and reputation with the Irish and their business. His father was not happy Bellamy had put himself in harm’s way and was giving his son the cold shoulder. Bellamy needed a release, and Echo seemed willing enough. They had a fun night, and she wanted to see him again. He of course said no, and that he didn’t do repeats. That didn’t stop the woman from slipping her number in his pants pocket before he left though. He had no intentions to use the number, but for some reason he will never understand, he kept the number. From then on it was a vicious cycle of him getting frustrated and needing a release, calling her up or her calling him up, they would fuck, she would say she wanted more from him like a real relationship. He would remind her that he didn’t do relationships, then she would make him feel bad for using her and leading her on, and then they wouldn’t talk to each other for a couple of months. He would _maybe_ have a one night stand in between, but somehow, he always ended up coming back to her, mostly by her invitation like that one she’d just sent him, and the cycle started all over again. She was so bad for him, it was ridiculous. He picked up her habit of smoking, and after every get-together, he was left feeling even colder and emptier inside than before. His heart was still just as tattered and bruised from his past, and he feared nothing would ever heal it, but the sex gave him a short reprieve from the crushing feeling of being so alone. He knew he had no real feelings for her. He just used her for her body, just like she used him for his.

That last thought stopped Bellamy in his tracks. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want Echo. He didn’t want anything to do with her. They used each other, and that was wrong on so many different levels… That coming from a man who killed people for a living. His poor mother would be so disappointed in him if she were still alive. She had raised him better than this.

He knew, deep down, he could find the inner strength to be patient and wait for this angel his grandmother just knew would save him from himself… IF she was out there that is. He just had to wait.

He could wait… If he wanted to.

He would wait… For a while at least.

He picked up his phone and texted the nasty controlling woman back, suddenly feeling angry at her and at himself.

_I don’t need you or this arrangement anymore. I’m done with you. Lose my number. –B_

After he hit the sent button, he felt immediate relief. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he could finally stand tall again. He almost wanted to smile… Almost. With that relief though, came sheer exhaustion.

Of course she wasn’t going to let him go that easily, and started blowing up his phone, so he blocked the number. He truly had no idea how much all of this had weighed on him. All he wanted now was sleep, but before he could rest, he had his phone call with Jake. Some of his exhaustion waned at the thought of talking with the older man.

Once he reached his apartment building, he didn’t even wait for Adam to open his door for him. He made sure to grab the leftover food and headed up stairs. Once he was in his apartment, he walked into his kitchen and placed the food in the fridge. Then he went to his bedroom, he emptied his pockets on his nightstand, but kept his cell, and walked into the closet. He slipped his shoes and socks off, and undid his tie, leaving it and his suit jacket on the closet island. He walked back to his bedroom, and slowly made his way to his balcony off of his bedroom, while unbuttoning his dress shirt. Stepping outside, the cool early June evening air hit him and washed over his senses like a soothing balm. He walked over to his balcony lounge chair and sat down. The hum of the city relaxing him a bit. He had a great view overlooking Central Park and the Upper East and West Sides of New York.

He knew Jake would be calling soon. They had grown so close over the years, ever since Bellamy and his guys had taken that trip all those years ago…

_A couple of months after Bellamy had returned home from his quest to avenge his mother, there was some commotion in the Mafia underworld. An organized crime boss’s daughter had been kidnapped. Bellamy didn’t know which organization had been targeted, but everyone was on the lookout for the little girl. Damian had used this opportunity to teach Bellamy the politics involved with American criminal organizations. In the United States, the Collins Family was the largest crime family on the east coast, and the Griffin family was the largest on the west coast. The relationship between the two families was amicable and friendly, and they often did a lot of business together. There were other families in other cities such as Las Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but they were on a much smaller scale. They tended to run in their cities and claimed the territory surrounding their cities, whereas the Griffins and Collins not only ran their massive cities, but their territory spanned across numerous states._

_Once Bellamy saw a picture of Jacob Griffin, the Boss of the Griffin Crime Family, it was easy to put two and two together. He had unknowingly met the Griffin Crime Boss, and formed a close bond with him. He was a little shocked at first, but then he remembered how the man believed in him and knew he would be great. Those words had often comforted Bellamy and got him through some pretty rough times and intense training. He felt perfectly comfortable visiting the older man, but his father would not be pleased to know his son knew Jake and that Jake knew exactly what had happened whilst Bellamy was gone for a little over a month, when he himself knew so little of the events, only the outcome._

_So Bellamy never told anyone, not even his father and uncle, anything about Jake and the events that led up to his meeting of the mysterious man._

_Two years after Jake sent Bellamy his eagle, Bellamy decided to finally go see the older man for a visit. He decided not to tell his father or uncle who he was going to see… Or even his boys. Bellamy just told everyone that they were going to the West Coast. He kept it intentionally vague so he didn’t lie._

_He was 21 at the time, and had decided to wait two additional months for Jasper and Monty, who were the babies of his crew, to turn 18 and graduate. He figured the trip would be a great way to celebrate their graduation and the completion of his entire crew’s training. So he began planning._

_Since Bellamy and his guys didn’t go anywhere without their guns, it made it incredibly difficult to pass customs at an airport, and it took too long to drive, even with Murphy doing 120 on the interstate. Bellamy decided to charter a private jet from John F. Kennedy International Airport to San Francisco International Airport. The flight would take about five and half hours and customs was non-existent or at least more manageable. By manageable, he meant more susceptible to being paid off or bribed._

_They would stay one night in San Francisco, and then make the 13 hour drive up to Seattle._

_Bellamy kept all his plans a secret, and only revealed the trip to his guys right after Jasper and Monty’s graduation ceremony in June. At first they were all shocked… A couple of them had never even been out of state, but then they were all ecstatic and absolutely couldn’t wait to go. When Miller asked when they would be leaving, Bellamy told them two days… Their reaction was to be tackled to the ground in a hug by Murphy, Jasper and Lucca, his three biggest goofballs._

_Two days later, all Bellamy heard on the car ride to the airport was groaning, complains and whining about why they were all up at this ungodly hour for a flight. Bellamy just laughed at them all… he had told them to go to bed early, although he didn’t mention that the flight was scheduled to leave at 4:30 A.M. Secretly Bellamy was hoping they would sleep most of the flight and give him some peace and quiet. They breezed through practically no customs or security, because they were flying private, and were on the plane with plenty of time to spare. Each guy found a chair and promptly fell back asleep snuggled with a pillow or blanket they had brought… all except Bellamy. Bellamy had some work that he brought along with him from the club. He had inventory lists, earnings reports, and employee payroll to do._

_About four hours into their flight some of the guys started to stir and wake up, until everyone but Murphy was awake. Antonio pulled out a tourist guide book to San Francisco, and started listing things to do and sights to see._

_Bellamy, who was still working, said without looking up from his papers, “We’ll only be there for the rest of today. We leave tomorrow.”_

_All the guys stopped talking. “Then where are we going tomorrow?” Monty asked confused._

_“Seattle.” Is all Bellamy said._

_“Bellamyyy…” Jasper moaned. “We don’t have a tourist guide book for Seattle… Now what are we going to do?” He finished huffing._

_Bellamy just rolled his eyes and began to pack away his papers. Once everything was stowed, he turned and saw Jasper still sulking, and said, “Fine! I’ll get you a stupid book when we get to San Francisco. Damn.”_

_Jasper’s mood seemed to improve after that. Antonio, who was still reading his book, suddenly frowned and sat up straighter._

_“No way.” He growled._

_“What?” Lucca asked a little bored._

_“We won’t be able to go on a tour of Alcatraz Island.”_

_Murphy, who was presumed to still be sleeping, shot up out of his seat sending his blanket to the ground and his pillow right into Miller’s face and shouted, “WHAT?!”_

_Antonio nodded solemnly and declared, “Apparently being that it’s one of the world’s most legendary prisons, you got to reserve ticket almost two whole months in advance to get in.”_

_Murphy looked like he was about ready to explode. “You have got to be kidding me!! I have literally been waiting years to go see Al Capone’s jail cell, ever since senior year, when Mr. Bonney did a pointed, in depth, week lecture on organized crime, and now you’re saying I. Can’t. Go?!” Murphy began to pace furiously. The other boy’s started to fidget. No one wanted to be anywhere near Murphy when he got angry and blew his top, and currently, they were all locked in a plane, thousands of feet in the air with him._

_Jasper whispered nervously. “Please tell me we have parachutes…”_

_Bellamy tried to get Murphy’s attention, but the man was too lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly he stopped, turned toward the guys and clapped his hands together. Jasper visibly flinched and tensed waiting for the blow out._

_“So this is what we’re going to do. We’ll charter a boat to take us 200 yards off the coast of the island, and scuba dive the rest of the way. We’ll break in, take a quick look around, mainly at Capone’s cell, and then leave. Scuba dive back to the boat and be home in time for supper. What do you think? Doable right?” He asked excitedly. Antonio was nodding seriously._

_Lucca snorted and said, “Does anyone else here see the irony of trying to break INTO a prison?”_

_Miller laughed and said to Murphy, “Well Murph, your plan is utterly and completely…” He paused for dramatic effect, watching how Murphy’s face became more and more hopeful. “… horrible. Just terrible, man. Seriously, what are you thinking?”_

_Before Murphy could lunge for Miller, he heard Bellamy yell his name. Looking over he saw Bellamy holding up a white envelope, with an amused expression on his face._

_“What is… Is that… Tickets? Can I touch it?” Murphy stuttered out making grabby hands for the envelope while gazing at it with awe._

_Monty and Jasper snickered and said at the same time, “That’s what she said.” They proceeded to yell ‘jinx’ while repeatedly pinching and poking each other._

_When Bellamy held the envelope out to him, Murphy walked forward to grab it, passing and slapping both Monty and Jasper on the back of the head making both boys stop to glare at him. Murphy couldn’t have cared less though, he was in his own bubble of happiness. He turned and high-fived Antonio, saying “Score!” Both boys grinned at Bellamy and said, “Thanks, Boss.”_

_The rest of the flight was filled with excited back and forth chatter between the guys. With the time zone change, it was seven in the morning by the time the plane touched down and was pulled into the hanger. They all gathered their duffle bags and belongings, and disembarked._

_The rental car was parked outside the hanger, just as Bellamy had instructed. It was a Chevy Tahoe, all black with dark tinted windows and seating for nine. Bellamy climbed into the driver’s seat while Antonio took the passenger seat. Everyone else piled into the back._

_Bellamy drove them to the Four Seasons hotel so they could check in. The guys were all speechless as they walked through the lobby, taking everything around them in. Bellamy approached the reception desk. The hot brunette with green eyes behind the desk was around Bellamy’s age. She gave him a once over, put on her best smile, and leaned on the desk in such a way that pushed her generous chest up and out. Bellamy smirked… He could go for some fun. He was on vacation after all._

_Her eyes immediately drew down to his lips. She swallowed and licked her lips. Bellamy looked at her name tag that read Stephanie._

_“Hello Stephanie. Checking in under Blake. Should be seven deluxe rooms.” Bellamy said in a purposely low voice._

_As she fumbled with the computer, he turned and winked at his guys who were watching the interaction with rapt attention._

_As she handed over the room keys, she watched how he slipped one of the cards out of its paper sleeve and wrote something down on it. He folded it and slipped it across the desk to her. He winked at her and then he and his entourage were walking away towards the elevators. Opening the paper, she saw his room number and a time written down._

_As Bellamy walked to the elevators, his guys were already planning which room to hang out in that night._

_Jasper looked at Bellamy and said, “We can all just go to Bellamy’s room. Right?”_

_Bellamy looked at him like he was crazy. “Uh, you most certainly cannot hang out in Bellamy’s room tonight.” He said using third person._

_“Why?” Jasper asked confused. Monty face palmed while the other guys snickered._

_“Yeah Boss, why?” Murphy echoed cheekily._

_“Well boys, tonight I’ll be… Busy.” Bellamy said hintingly._

_“Seriously?” Miller asked skeptically, “You think that worked? You said maybe 10 or 11 words to the girl, and you think she’ll fall into bed with you?”_

_As they stepped into the elevator, Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows, “Is that judgement and doubt I’m hearing in your voice Miller?”_

_“Nah Boss…” Miller replied casually. “Pride… That is if you can pull it off.”_

_“Oh ye of little faith…” Bellamy said covering his heart with mock hurt._

_Miller grinned. “You know the deal brother. Bring the proof, AKA her panties, tomorrow morning, and I’ll declare you the living breathing Adonis, walking the earth among us mere mortal men. If you don’t, then…” He paused thinking of something that Bellamy would normally never let them do. “Then we get to go jet skiing and sky diving in Seattle while we’re there.”_

_“Deal.” Bellamy said grinning. They both clasped hands and gave a firm shake._

_Once the elevator got to their floor, the boy’s went their rooms and got ready for the tour of Alcatraz Island, and some other sightseeing locations that they could hopefully fit in. Everyone met up in the lobby, and then they were off._

**_XxxX_ **

_When they returned later that evening, everyone was exhausted but happy._

_Monty and Jasper specifically picked to go visit the California Academy of Sciences, and had an awesome time exploring the aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum they had. Miller and Lucca wanted to go to Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium off San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, and everyone had a blast with the laser race. Miller even asked Bellamy to build one in the club basement. Finally, when Murphy started pouting and whining, is when they headed over the Alcatraz Island. Bellamy and Antonio loved the history of the place, but Murphy was too distracted by how far away they were from Al Capone’s cell. By the time they finally got there, Murphy was practically vibrating with excitement. Walking around the cell, Bellamy could have sworn Murphy got a little choked up walking over the threshold, but he claimed it was just dust of dead dude’s past._

_They all headed upstairs and parted ways to go to their rooms. Bellamy reminded them they were all leaving at 9:30 the next morning, and retired to his own room. A couple of minutes after his door was shut and locked, he heard a timid knock. He opened the door to reveal a shy Stephanie._

_Bellamy studied her. “You sure?” He asked giving her an out. She just nodded. “You know this is a one-time thing right? We’ll never see each other again, and if we do, we act like strangers got it?” Again she nodded her head in acknowledgement. Bellamy stepped to the side and opened the door wider letting her walk past him._

_It looked like his night wasn’t over quite yet. He turned and shut the door behind him._

**_XxxX_ **

_The next morning, Bellamy woke sweating from a horrid nightmare. He looked over to see a still sleeping Stephanie. The clock on the night stand stated it was 8:55 A.M._

_He needed to shower and pack, in that order. He quickly and quietly went about his business. He was showered, shaved and packed in 15 minutes, and then went about the process of wiping surfaces down. He was taught to be paranoid about staying in hotels. Often it was a necessary evil to stay in hotels, but by wiping surfaces down, he cut down the risk of having his prints lifted and possibly planted. He did enough of his own crime, he didn’t need to take the fall for someone else’s. He had heard horror stories of dirty cops planting fingerprint evidence to frame criminals who were often pretty clean about their crimes._

_He grabbed the used condoms and flushed those down the toilet. Last thing he needed was some broad showing up on his door step nine months later with a kid, saying it was his all because she self-inseminated from a used condom. Women, in his experience, would do anything to make a quick buck. Bellamy had never in his life had unprotected sex. He had no room in his life for a kid, and never wanted one frankly. Growing up in this type of life is something he didn’t want any kid to go through, much less his kid._

_He slung his bag over his shoulder and started walking toward the door, stopping with his hand on the door knob. He was forgetting something. He quickly scanned the room and located what he was forgetting. Stephanie’s pink lacy panties were hanging from the lamp shade where he threw them last night. He grabbed them and stuffed them in his pocket. There was no way him or any of his guys were going skydiving. Jet skiing was okay, but skydiving was a definite no. It would be just his luck that his guys would make a bet to see who could pull their parachute last, and then one of them end up not pulling it at all, just to win the stupid bet… No one was dying on this trip._

_With Stephanie still asleep, Bellamy slipped from the room and caught an elevator all the way to the ground floor. He was right on time. Antonio was waiting by the door for him. He checked out and checked to make sure all the guys checked out as well, and then walked to Antonio, slipping on his ray bans. They headed outside where the SUV was waiting at the curb. Bellamy tossed his bag in the trunk and jumped into the driver’s seat. Antonio was riding shot gun again... Miller and Murphy were awake in the second row gazing at him with eager eyes, and Monty, Jasper, and Lucca were all passed out in the third row using each other and various pillows and blankets to sleep on._

_“So?” Miller asked anxiously. He was dying to know what had happened. He really wanted to go sky diving and jet skiing._

_Bellamy reached into his pocket and pulled the underwear out tossing them to Miller who frowned._

_“Damn it. I really thought I was going to win.” Miller pouted. Then he sighed dramatically, and made a dramatic bow declaring “All hail Adonis… He’s a real fun killer.” Miller finished._

_Bellamy grinned salaciously, “I don’t know Nate. I had a lot of fun… Last night.” He winked, enjoying how frustrated the other man was that his plans had been thwarted… He couldn’t help but rub it in a little. Miller just groaned in response._

_Murphy, who was a bit put out too, waited ‘til Bellamy and Antonio were discussing routes and directions before leaning in close and whispering in Miller’s ear, “Get Monty and Jasper on board. Have them wear him down with the puppy dog looks they have perfected. You know he can’t say no to that.” Miller nodded thoughtfully._

_“Hey! What are you two whispering about?” Bellamy questioned suspiciously._

_“Nothing.” They both said a little too quickly. Bellamy just rolled his eyes and let it go._

_Over the 13 hour trip, they stopped four times. Once for breakfast, once for lunch, and twice for bathroom and snacks._

_They reached Seattle around 10:30 P.M. and Bellamy asked the guys if they were hungry._

_Jasper, who had sneakily bought and ate six packs of AirHeads Xtremes Sour Belts 30 minutes before, asked loudly from the very back seat bouncing in place, “How do you say hell yes in Italian, Antonio?”_

_“Diavolo si.” Antonio responded._

_“Then demolo se.” Jasper tried to parrot back, failing horribly._

_Bellamy just sighed and asked, “You couldn’t have just said yes, Jas?”_

_Jasper stopped bouncing and looked confused for a minute before shaking his head saying “No.”_

_Bellamy just shook his head. He needed out of this car, or he was going to strangle somebody. Another ten minutes later, they pulled up to the very same diner Bellamy had been at seven years previously. It looked exactly the same as he remembered it. He parked the car, and everyone came tumbling out. Jasper was the last one out and fell flat on his butt in his attempt to escape the confining space. One thing Bellamy and his guys had come to learn about Jasper was that while most people had a hard time handling their liquor, Jasper had a hard time handling his sugar. The guy practically bounced off walls when he ate too much, the crash later was super worth it though. He went into some kind of sugar coma, and slept for almost a whole day in recovery._

_One they got him up and dusted him off, he was off again. As they walked in, Bellamy noticed the lady behind the counter do a double take when she saw him. Her face first showed shock, and then she seemed to come back to herself, smiling politely at them. Bellamy sat at the same booth he had all those year ago, and the guys pulled up another table and a couple of chairs and gathered around him. The lady from behind the counter, Shelly, came and took all their orders. She walked into the back. Bellamy could see her through the window, walk to the phone that was hanging on the wall and make a call. She nodded a couple of times, and stole a couple of glances at their table, then she hung up and went about her business._

_Miller was watching Bellamy casually look around, and blurted out, “You’ve been here before haven’t you?”_

_Everyone froze, and they all peered at him curiously. Bellamy just nodded thoughtfully and said, “Yeah, I was here alone about 7 or 8 years ago.”_

_Monty looked confused. “How? You must have been 14 or 15 right?” Everyone was eagerly listening now. No one knew anything about Bellamy from before he first started recruiting his crew. All they knew was his mother died and he lived with his mafia uncle and frequently saw his mafia boss father._

_“This city is where I first killed a man, and this diner is where I came afterwards and met an old friend who became sort of like a mentor to me.” Bellamy stated, thinking how he had gotten his mother killed._

_“Holy shit.” Antonio said. This was huge. No one had ever heard the official story why Bellamy had chosen this life… Sure, there were plenty of rumors, but nothing compared to getting the story from the source._

_The food arrived then, and before everyone dug in, they said a quick grace. The food was eaten quickly, and when everyone was done, Lucca asked Bellamy to tell them the story of what happened and what they were really doing here. So, Bellamy told them his story… Or a quick summary of it. His mother dying, being taken in, the release of Cage, leaving and hunting the man down to kill him, the man’s death, and lastly meeting Jake. Bellamy didn’t go into detail about what was said, or who Jake really was… That would come later._

_While Bellamy had been telling his story, the diner had emptied out except for a quiet table, five tables away, with five gentlemen sitting listening intently to the story. Bellamy’s whole crew had been too enraptured in the story to notice the men walk in, but Bellamy had noticed. After the story was over, everyone sat there in shock, not saying a word._

_Suddenly the sound of four guns being cocked filled the silent room, making the sound seem louder and carry farther than it normally would and making all of Bellamy’s men tense. In the blink of an eye, all of Bellamy’s guys moved in sync. Tables were being flipped over, and ducked behind for cover while guns were being drawn and aimed in the direction of the sounds. No shots were fired… Not until they got a signal from Bellamy. Being in a public place, they couldn’t just go off randomly shooting guns. That was stupid, and a sure fire way to get arrested._

_Bellamy hadn’t moved. He just told his guys “Stand down. Don’t shoot.” He stood slowly, grinning at the tall man who had walked over. He had aged over the years and had a weary look about him,_ _but the sandy blonde hair and crystal ice blue eyes gave him away. Bellamy’s guys were looking at him like he was crazy.  Bellamy just said “Guys, meet Jake.” Slowly the guys dropped their weapons, stood and put them away realizing there was no real danger._

_Jake grinned and reached out his arm for a hand shake pulling Bellamy in for a one armed hug. “How yah been, kid?”_

_“I’m great old man. Was it really necessary to test my guys?” Bellamy asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing exactly what the older man had been doing._

_“What? I was just having a bit of fun. You know us old men… We like a good scare.” Jake said smiling jovially._

_“Oh… My… God.” Monty said, gazing at Jake with a bit of awe and fear. He began to pace furiously. “Y-you… Oh jeez. We’re dead. This is so incredibly cool, but we’re all gonna die.” Jasper looked to Bellamy, who nodded, and then walked over and slapped Monty over the back of the head. Monty froze and glared at Jasper slapping his arm._

_They then engaged in a minor slap fight before Murphy cleared his throat loudly and demanded, “Would you MIND telling the rest of us what the hell is going on up there Monty-Cristo.” He said tapping his temple._

_Monty turned and said in a voice that implied everyone should have figured it out already, “That…” Pointing at Jake, “Is Jacob ‘The Grim Reaper’ Griffin… Head of the Griffin Crime Family who runs the entire west coast.”_

_Jake bowed and said, “The very same, at your service.”_

_“No flipping way…” Said Miller._

_“How in the world did you know we would be here? Bellamy did you tell him?” Lucca asked in an astounded voice._

_Bellamy shook his head and said, “Nah, he had the waitress paid what I am sure was a handsome lump of money, to call if I ever showed up. Right old man?”_

_Jake nodded “Guilty as charged. How long you in town for? I heard through the grape vine you and your boys were taking a trip… I could only hope you would stop and see me, and I’m very glad you did.”_

_“Were in town for about a week or so. After that we gotta head back… Business to do and such.” Bellamy stated. Jasper took that moment to yawn loudly. Bellamy knew it was only a matter of time before he crashed. Turning back to Jake, he said, “So we’ll see each other tomorrow? We’ve got to be getting to a hotel before Jasper passes out.”_

_Jake looked at the kid swaying on his feet. “Is he on something?” Jake asked curiously._

_“Yeah.” Bellamy replied casually. “Sugar.”_

_“Huh. Well you’re not staying in a hotel. I’ve got a surprise for you.” Jake said grinning happily._

_“Okay?” Bellamy said confused. This was unexpected._

_“Come on. It about 30 minutes away.” Jake said, and turned walking to his guys and giving them instructions to do a couple of things then to go home. Bellamy motioned for his guys to load up, and then followed Jake as they made a 30 minute drive to Bellevue. When they drove through some forests, Murphy naturally voiced his concerns about being murdered out in the woods, which was generally ignored. They started to drive through a couple of fancy neighborhoods when suddenly they stopped at a gate. Jake typed in a pass code, and then drove slowly down the driveway. The property was pretty clear of trees, and looked to be well taken care of. After about a mile or so, the driveway led up to a circular driveway with a run off to a five door underground garage._

_The house itself looked massive and was all lit up. Everyone got out and grabbed their bag out of the back. Bellamy’s guys were almost delirious with the heady mixture of fatigue and excitement running rampant through their bodies. They walked to the front door, and watched as Jake pulled a key from his pants pocket and unlock the front door. His entire crew barged through the doors, and stopped dead in their tracks. The front entrance opened into a massive living room-den area with plush looking sofas, a ginormous television, and a view overlooking Lake Washington. The kitchen was open to the den, and there were stairs to the left and right of the entry. Bellamy watched as Murphy turned and booked it up stairs yelling dibs for the bedroom with the best view. The other guys seemed to unfreeze and followed suit, trying to trip people and hollering expletives._

_Bellamy just closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. He heard Jake chuckle beside him. The older man clasped the younger man’s shoulder and said “It looks like you could use a drink kid.” Jake walked over to the refrigerator in the kitchen and pulled two bottles of beer out. “Wait… Are you even legal to drink?” He asked looking at Bellamy._

_Bellamy grinned and nodded. “Would it have stopped you if I wasn’t?” Bellamy asked amused._

_“No… Not at all.” Jake said happily. He nodded to a set of French doors and they walked outside. There was a good sized porch out back with nice outdoor furniture. There was a garden with a big lit up fountain and a boat house down by the water._

_“So whose house is this?” Bellamy asked after a few minutes of sitting in silence in a couple of the outdoor chairs drinking their beers._

_“Yours.” Jake replied._

_“Ha, funny. Seriously, whose house?”_

_Jake pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to him. It was the deed to the house, and his name was on it._

_“Are you messing with me?” Bellamy asked after his shock wore off._

_“Nope.”_

_“Why would you give me a house? I can’t accept this, it’s too much old man…” Bellamy said shaking his head trying to hand the paper back, but Jake refused to take it._

_“I gave you this house, so you know you have a place here to call home, or home away from home I guess. Anytime you want to come visit, you come. No way am I taking it back. It is a gift… One I really wish you would accept.”_

_Bellamy reluctantly nodded. They laughed and talked about anything and everything. After a while Bellamy asked if he needed to leave soon._

_“Trying to get rid of me eh?” Jake teased._

_Bellamy grinned and shook his head. “No way, just worried your wife will send out a search party if you aren’t home soon. I hear she’s pretty fierce when mad.”_

_Jake chuckled. “You have no idea, but no, she’s not expecting me home tonight, and I have my son handling business for the night… We’ll see how he does on his own.”_

_“Whoa… I didn’t know you had a son. I thought you just had a daughter… The one who likes art. You never did tell me her name.” Bellamy mused._

_“Well you would be correct in assuming I only have a daughter. She’s my only biological child, and her name is Charlotte, but I call her Lottie. I adopted my son about 6 or 7 years ago. Right after I met you actually.” Jake said solemnly._

_Bellamy picked up on the man’s sober mood change, but couldn’t seem to stop himself from inquiring about it further. “There seems to be a story there…” He hinted at._

_“It’s a pretty long ugly one really.” Jake warned._

_“We’ve got time. Besides, you know I have an ugly story, so that’s not going to deter me.” Bellamy stated earnestly._

_Jake took a deep breath and began to talk. “My Lottie was a shy, quiet, insecure child growing up. She was so kind and sweet though. She would give her heart and soul to help someone if it were possible and always tried to please people. Abby was working long shifts at the hospital at the time, and I wasn’t home a lot of the time to take care of her, so we hired a nanny. Rosemary Hill went through the normal background checks and passed with flying colors. She was perfect, or so we thought. It was about a month or so after I had met you at the diner, and several months after we had hired the nanny, when Lottie didn’t come home from school. We were frantic trying to find her. The school said the nanny was the last person to check her out of school. I quickly put the pieces together and figured out she had been kidnapped by Rosemary. We didn’t alert the police of course, because I knew when I found the sick bitch, I was going to get my justice, just not by any legal means.”_

_Bellamy leaned forward and said “Damn… It was you then.” At Jake’s confused expression, Bellamy clarified, “It was you who was targeted. I had heard about the kidnapping, but I didn’t know all this had happened to you.”_

_“Yeah.” Jake continued sadly. “The thing about it was, it could have been avoided. Lottie said she didn’t like the woman, and that something didn’t seem right, but Abby and I just shrugged it off as her trying to get attention… It was never in Lottie’s nature to seek attention, even from us, so I should have known better.” At this Jake shook his head mournfully and continued, “After I got the word out, I spent two whole months looking for my little girl. In that time I learned that Rosemary was actually Cassidy Burke, and she and her husband, Franklin Burke, were thought to be responsible for over 12 cases where a child was kidnapped and found murdered three weeks later. They didn’t target us because I was a Don, or because Abby was a well-known doctor. They targeted us because they liked Charlotte. I was terrified, kid. Every moment was filled with this overwhelming fear that the next place I looked, I would find her, but it would be too late and all I would find is what was left of her.”_

_Bellamy’s heart went out to the man. The obvious pain he went through, and still suffered with under the disguise of guilt, was something Bellamy knew a thing or two about. He stayed quiet though._

_“I had my guys searching night and day, using various methods. I was barley holding it together, Abby was worst off. They seemed to constantly move, and by the time I got there, they were already gone. My little brave Lottie would leave me clues of where to look for her in her hidden pictures that she painted or drew on the closet wall of the room where she stayed, and a small lock of her hair to let me know she was okay. Then the most… miraculous thing happened. It was so insignificant, so_ _minuscule, that I just about missed it. Lottie had left me a clue that they were going to Beverly Hills, but I had no idea if it was California or Texas. Right as I was ready to give up guessing and just go to California, we got a hit. One Miss Rosemary Hill, got a traffic ticket right outside of Waco, Texas. Same fake license number and everything. A damn traffic ticket on the alias she used to kidnap my child! I rushed down there from Utah, which is where they last were, and got there a couple of hours after they did. I flashed their picture around the local watering hole, and a few people recognized the man, as he had just been there. We were able to track and follow him back to this old run down shack in the woods. I had about ten guys with me, and we stormed the place and subdued the couple. I had some of my guys leave with them both, so they could start to transport them back here to Seattle._

_“I searched the rest of the house and couldn’t find her anywhere. By then I was about ready to have a heart attack, scared out of my mind that I was an hour too late, when I heard one of my guys yell from the kitchen. There was a trap door under the table that led to a filthy basement. Low and behold, was my little Lottie hunched over this thin, badly beaten, teenage kid, who was sitting propped up against the wall. He was bleeding and unconscious, and she wasn’t in the greatest of conditions either, so I got them both to a hospital. Lottie had several cuts and bruises, various cigarette burn marks, and she was malnourished, but the other kid was way worse off. He had to be operated on due to some internal bleeding, but they said he would make a full recovery if I could get him to a better facility than what they had, and get him a specialized doctor. They were a small town hospital, and weren’t really equipped to handle his case fully. They said he needed a pediatric surgeon to fully look him over and take his case. Thankfully, I knew the best in the country. Lottie refused to leave his bedside. She told me bits about what happened, and she told me all about Lincoln, which was the teenager’s name. He had basically taken most of her beatings, and slipped her small amounts of food whenever they would locked her away. She had doubted for a while that I was even coming for her, but Lincoln promised her that he would never leave her no matter what. He is the reason she survived._

_“She had so many psychological scars after the whole ordeal. One of them was she hated people using her first name. She could tolerate Lottie from me, but that was it… Preferred for people to call her by her middle name. Still does actually. When we got her back, Abby was understanding at first, but after a while, she went back to calling her Charlotte… She just wanted things back to normal, so she continued to call her Charlotte. Lottie had an anxiety attack every single time, and Lincoln and I were the only ones who could pull her out of it and calm her down. When Lincoln woke up after the surgery, the first question he asked was ‘Where is Bug?’”_

_“What?” Bellamy asked confused. “Did he have brain damage or something?”_

_Jake shook his head, a rueful little smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “No, he calls her Bug, short for ladybug, which was her favorite insect when she was younger. He often jokes that she is tiny enough to actually be a bug.” Bellamy laughed at that._

_“After he was released from the hospital, I brought them both home with me, and have never regretted my decision to adopt him. He’s actually around your age, kid. I couldn’t have asked for a better big brother for my little girl. I swear I think she believes he hung the moon and stars, and vice versa. It was tough for a while. Getting them both acclimated to school and the real world. Sent both of them to therapy and defense classes, and got both of them bodyguards. They are both doing amazing right now, everything considering. They are so similar; it’s just amazing to see them interact. He’s an artist like her. They can sit in the same room for hours on end, and just draw. They don’t even have to say a word to the other person, just passing their sketches back and forth. Lincoln was surprisingly open when it came to our way of life, and I’m hoping he can be Underboss in a few years.” He finished._

_Bellamy knew there was probably a lot more to the story that he was watering down or leaving out, but he was just happy the older man had opened up to him at all._

_“So tell me about your guys. They seem like a hilarious crew to be around. Very… unique.” Jake stated._

_Bellamy launched into the tail of how he met all of them and brought them all into the fold. Jake cracked up laughing at Monty and Jasper trying to hunt down whether or not the Triad used real ninja’s with swords._

_“Murphy and Jasper are my mischief makers and the loudest of the six. Antonio and Miller are my serious quiet ones, but, they will sometimes join in any mischief going on. It’s really Lucca and Monty that I have to watch out for. Those two are always behind the scenes doing something.” Bellamy finished._

_Jake chuckled. “It sounds like you’ve got a bunch of children on your hands.”_

_“Yeah, but they’re my people, and they’re loyal, so I’m happy I’ve got ‘em.”_

_They talked for another hour or so before they called it quits. Bellamy insisted Jake sleep in the master bedroom on the first floor. He would take the couch._

**_XxxX_ **

_Over the next five days, the boys had a blast sightseeing and hanging out at the house. Bellamy spent most of his time with Jake, as the older man mentored him and showed him some of his various racketeering operations that gave Bellamy some new ideas to start on when he got home. Bellamy’s guys quickly grew to love Jake and his fun easy going ways. It was sometimes hard to remember he was a mob boss and had killed so many people. Jake had also talked about Lincoln to Bellamy a bit more, and Bellamy knew if he ever met the man, they would be great friends._

_Two days before they were set to leave, Jake got a phone call in the evening. They were all hanging out in the living room joking around a having a great time, when Jake’s phone rang. He answered, and as the other person on the line talked, Jake’s face grew more and more harsh and forbidding. When he hung up he turned to Bellamy._

_“Well kid, what do you say to helping an old man out for old times’ sake?”_

_Bellamy agreed and told his guys to gear up. They drove to the same warehouse Bellamy had used when he killed Cage. Bellamy didn’t recognize where he was due to the direction they came in from and the way the building looked. It had been remodeled and upgraded._

_Inside there were two men were tied to chairs sitting in the middle of the room. They looked to be around Lucca and Antonio’s age... Maybe a year or so age difference. The younger one had a pretty boy look about him, and the older had a gruffer sturdier look about him. He looked like he worked out, and was built brawny like a football player._

_There were maybe ten or so of Jake’s men milling about in the space. Bellamy’s guys looked around and seemed a bit confused but didn’t speak… They were in soldier mode. Gone was the joking carefree attitude of half an hour ago. Part of their training included being able to flip a switch and go from normal friends to soldiers waiting for commands on a moments notice._

_Bellamy walked forward, and casually started to circle the men. He paused noticing a large dark stain in the concrete beneath where the two chairs were sitting. Bellamy looked up and sent a questioning gaze toward Jake who just nodded._

_Bellamy’s attention was drawn back to the two men by pretty boy stating a bit snidely, “What the hell is going on and who are you, asshat?” Gazing at Bellamy. Some of Jake’s men snickered, making the kid look proud at his quip. The other guy tied up was quiet, observing his surroundings and Bellamy._

_Next thing people new, Bellamy’s guys had drawn their guns and were aiming at the two men, ready to blow them both away for the blatant disrespect they were showing their leader. Jake’s guys didn’t move, having strict instructions not to interfere no matter what. They watched with rapt attention the ease at which Bellamy and Jake interacted, shocked that the usually tough, mean man was displaying such warmth and fondness toward the younger man… Warmth usually only reserved for his wife and children._

_Bellamy ignored the barb, motioned for his guys to put their guns away, and turned to Jake and asking, “What did you want me to do, old man? You want a Cage Special? I’ll have to borrow a kit. Left mine at home.”_

_Jake just grinned as Bellamy continued. “That is what they are set up for after all… Hell, they are even sitting on the same spot the man died. Love that you kept the blood stain by the way… Adds a real sentimentality to the place.” He finished thoughtfully. Bellamy’s guys caught on to the meaning and discreetly looked around again at the place that made and first saw the great Bellamy Blake take shape._

_Jake laughed and said, “Kid, meet Romeo Accardi and his older brother Diego, two of the best street racers north of Santa Barbra. Unfortunately they have decided to branch out into robbery and larceny. They haven’t been identified by the police yet. They use to work out of Los Angeles, so they were LA mob boss, Dominic Rossi’s, problem, but then they moved up here and started causing me a bit of trouble. Knocking over banks and… convenience stores.” Jake paused to see his reaction, knowing the man’s history._

_Bellamy’s face darkened. He walked over to stand in front of the two men. He stared each of them down so hard they both bowed their heads in a show of submissiveness to the scary man. “Murphy.” He called. “Bring me your knife.” Murphy walked over and handed his switchblade to Bellamy._

_“Okay. This is what’s gonna happen… You’re both going to answer my questions, and for every unanswered question or lie I hear, you’ll gain a scar. Understood?”_

_Both nodded solemnly._

_“That’s not good enough.” Bellamy barked._

_“Yes, sir.” Both answered, flinching at the man’s tone of voice._

_“Better. Parents.” Bellamy stated._

_“Dead.” Romeo answered… his hint of defiance gone, replaced with fear._

_“Ages.”_

_“I’m 19, Diego is 20.” Romeo answered again._

_“How many people have you each killed?” Bellamy asked with a coldness that chilled the room and sent a shiver down the spines of Jake’s men._

_“I’ve only killed a guy in a bank robbery we did down south.” Romeo answered. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Bellamy raised his hand to cut him off._

_“No, I want him to speak and answer my question.” Bellamy said referring to Diego._

_The man himself looked up and rumbled “Two. One in that same bank robbery and the other in a street race… clipped the guy’s car and he rolled the car twice before it burst into flames.”_

_Bellamy nodded and began pacing. Everyone was quiet waiting to see what the rebel would do. Finally, Jake stepped forward and said, “So what’s it gonna be kid? Do I need to call a cleaning crew, or is that brilliant mind cooking up something else?”_

_“Or something else.” He murmured. He stopped and turned to the two tied up men. “Seven years ago, in the very place you both are sitting, I killed the man who murdered my mother in a convenience store robbery. God help me, I’m going to offer you a place in my crew. It’s too late to claim ignorance about anything you’ve seen. You have stepped on too many powerful mob members toes, so it’s either you join or Jake disposes of you. Make your choice wisely and quickly. But before you do…” Bellamy trailed off._

_“Boys,” Bellamy called, “List the rules.”_

_Murphy started simply saying, “Training.”_

_Miller followed Murphy with a one word response, “Education.”_

_Monty piped up with, “Don’t do anything illegal unless Cap approves it.”_

_Antonio stated “Your old life is over, it will never be used against you, and you will never be judged for it.”_

_Lucca followed up with “And if you ever feel yourself slipping back into old habits, you go to Boss.”_

_Lastly, Jasper chirped, “Don’t make Murphy mad.” Monty threw a well-aimed elbow hitting Jasper in the rib. He yelped “I mean, it’s a rough life but once you’re in, you can’t leave but you’ve got family. Betrayal or desertion means death.” He added a little head nod at the end for good measure._

_Both guys looked at each other… “Join.” Diego said turning to look at Bellamy. Romeo nodded._

_“Alright, be in New York City in two weeks. Until then, Jake will be keeping an eye on you. Break any of my rules, and he kills you. Got it?” Bellamy asked with raised eye brows. He got two wholehearted ‘Yes sirs’ in response._

_After that, the rest of the time was spent normally. Jake was proud of him and his decision._

_The time to go was quickly upon them, and Bellamy made arrangements for the house to be taken care of until the next time he visited. Before they departed, Jake pulled Bellamy aside and made him an offer._

_“I want you to be the next Don.”_

_Bellamy was stunned. “What? But what about your son?”_

_“He doesn’t want to be Don. He says the highest he’ll go is Underboss. He doesn’t want the weight and responsibility of it.” Jake stated seriously. “I just want you to think about it. You know the highest you can go in your own family is Underboss, and that is a waste. You were born to be the head of a family. Which family, really shouldn’t matter. Mark my words kid, you will one day be a boss, whether you take my offer or break off to create your own family. I promise, you’ll see. Keep in contact yah hear, and don’t go no seven years before coming to see me again.” Jake patted his shoulder and began to say good bye to the other guys._

Bellamy was pulled from his thinking by his phone ringing. Jake’s name flashed across the screen.

He answered the phone, “Hey old man. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay kid… Tired.” Came Jake’s weary voice form the other end of the line.

“Yeah, I hear that. I have had a week from hell myself.” Bellamy said pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, kid, you go first, then I’ll spill about mine.” Jake said. Bellamy could almost hear the smile in his voice.

Bellamy then proceeded to tell Jake everything, starting with the gang wars all the way up to his grandmother tearing him a new one for still sleeping around just hours before.

“Bellamy,” Jake said seriously. Bellamy knew it was severe when the older man used his real name instead of kid. “Be very careful about Nyko… Egor Averin, the Pakhan of the Russian Bratva, and his wife Nia, will not be happy about one of their captains owing three favors to anyone, especially an American Underboss. They take that stuff seriously. The only way for them to get out of those three favors is if you’re dead, or they find something of significant value to leverage on you in exchange for those three favors, which they will in a heartbeat, so just watch your back okay?”

“Yes sir.” Bellamy said.

“You know all you have to do is say the word, kid, and I will make you Boss. As for your grandmother… She was completely right. This playboy lifestyle that you project and let circulate in the media, even if it isn’t what others think it is, was a good cover for your illegal activities when you were younger and didn’t have your business, but you need to grow up in the eyes of the public. I’m not saying marry the first girl you see, but at least start dating son.”

“Jake, I-I just can’t. I’ll quit sleeping around… No more one night stands, promise, but I just can’t handle the sickening idea of dating. It’s so not like me, and in my experience, women just love me for the dollar signs I seem to have tattooed on my forehead.” Bellamy stated glumly, not liking his grandmother and Jake unknowingly tag teaming him.

“Okay then kid, just wait. She’ll find you, probably in a really unsuspecting and surprising way. I didn’t go looking for my Abby, and she ended up falling in my lap, literally, in a coffee shop. I was Underboss back then, and had a buy to go to, but I called my father and told him I wasn’t going... There was no way I was walking away from her. The buy ended up being a trap to kill me. Woman unknowingly saved my life the first time I met her, and she’s saved me every day since.” Jake finished.

Bellamy sighed and decided to change the subject. “So now that I have told you all about my hellish week, spill about yours old man.”

Jake proceeded to tell Bellamy how he was having trouble with the Canadians, and it looked to be head towards war if no solution was found. He was going to wait a few weeks and if nothing changed, he would be making a visit to New York to talk with Damian about making a trade for some extra man power and munitions.

“If you need me to come and help, you tell me okay? I’ll have my private jet on standby.”

“Thanks kid. I appreciate it.” Jake said fervently.

They talked for another 30 minutes or so about Jake’s family, Bellamy’s guys, and business in general, both illegal and legal, before they both said their good-byes and hung up.

Bellamy sat back and replayed his conversations with both his grandmother and mentor, and decided if he was meant to find someone, he was going to need some kind of divine sign. He was done with the issue until he saw that sign.

He pondered the days to come. Even with all the craziness of the past week, it still felt a bit like the calm before the storm. Bellamy just hoped he was prepared for whatever was going to be thrown his way next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, here it is. Chapter 6 is pretty short... Kind of a filler, but an important one. It sets up Chapter 7 for us to meet a very IMPORTANT character that has been heavily asked for (wink wink!). As soon as I get 20 reviews, I'll post chapter 6, and then Chapter 7 will be up next Friday as normal. We'll be skipping a whole week here people! So, review!
> 
> -Redhead17x
> 
> P.S.-Thank you so much to all the people that left me kudos, bookmarked, commented, or subscribed to my story last chapter... I love each and every one of you guys :)


	6. Shot Heard Around the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness gracious guys! You've all been holding out on me! I don't know if it was the chapter itself that prompted so many of you to leave me comments, or my offer of posting Chapter 6 as soon as I got a certain amount, but I'm blown away. THANK-YOU to every single one of you who left me a comment. Here's Chapter 6, as promised. Like I said, it's short, so here yah go...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 6- Shot Heard Around the World**

The next morning, Bellamy went through his normal routine, including his five mile run in south Central Park. He made it into his office by 8:30 A.M. and from there, his day was relatively quiet. Bellamy was extremely grateful due to the fact that he had a hard time concentrating on anything. He tried to concentrate on the various stacks of paperwork he had piled on his desk, but he always ended up staring out of his window. He was restless and twitchy. He had so many different things on his mind, he found it hard to focus on just one thing.

He ended up staying at the office until six to finish all the paperwork that had a deadline for that day. After he closed everything down, put all important things away, and locked things up, he found himself in the back of his SUV headed home. Bellamy began to feel like the walls were closing in around him, so he told Adam to instead take him to the north side of Central Park. He loved to walk around by the reservoir… The water soothed his frazzled thoughts. It took about 30 minutes to get there. The park was relatively quiet for a Friday evening.

Bellamy knew he had dinner with his guys in about an hour or so. He also knew he needed to tell them how serious he was thinking about breaking away from his father, or taking Jake up on his offer. The problem there in lie with Bellamy and his mixed emotions and thoughts about what to do.

He knew his guys would follow him ‘til the ends of the earth, but part of being a good leader is protecting your people so you actually have people to lead. If he were to leave his fathers’ Family, he would have a target on his back. While that notion was fine with Bellamy, he didn’t want his guys to get hurt or possibly killed for him and his decision to leave the Family. The Family labeled it “desertion”, and often times there was nowhere in the world for you to run or hide where the Family couldn’t hunt you down.

Leaving, in and of itself, was not going to be some walk in the park either. While he had a reputation of being a cold brutal criminal, he would basically lose all of his respect, standing, and credit by leaving. He would have to start at the bottom all over again, and prove himself. There would be people that would see him as a traitor, and would never accept his claim as being legitimate no matter where he went.

The alternative of staying and having to serve his idiotic half-brother when he was made Boss was not that enticing either. In fact it was less enticing than being labeled a traitor. Serving under his brother was dangerous as well. With the way Finn hated him, he could easily put out a contract on him to have him killed, and there was nothing anyone could do. While Bellamy had most of the respect in the Family, they were all bound by the _Omerta_ to follow whoever was Head of the Family and do what he wanted… Plain and simple.

If only there was a way to have his father give his permission to allow Bellamy to leave, then he would be free to do as he pleased and either create his own Family or take over Jake’s Family… But that was a ridiculous hope, and Bellamy knew it too. His father had made his position clear on how he felt about traitors when Bellamy was a teenager…

_Fifteen-year-old Bellamy was in his room doing his summer reading report, in preparation for his first year in high school which was starting up in three weeks._

_While he had been back from his month long revenge campaign for approximately a month and a half, and had made his intentions to join the Family known, he still had ambitions to have a life away from the mafia. To make that possible, he needed good grades in school. So here he was, working diligently to get the report done._

_Sometime later he heard the front door open and close, and his uncle call for him to come downstairs._

_His uncle told him they were going somewhere, and to go get ready. They left the house ten minutes later and drove to his father’s club, the same one that was given to him years later for graduating. Bellamy had been there plenty of times, but never had he been in the basement, which is where his uncle was leading him._

_The basement smelled strongly of industrial cleaners. Walking down the stairs, Bellamy took in everything and everyone in the room. There were cages and tables along three of the walls, while the last wall displayed various weapons, knives and torture instruments. His father was leaning against one of the tables, and several men were standing around the room whispering amongst themselves._

_There were two men hanging from the ceiling by their hands with bags over their heads. Everyone immediately quit talking, noticing the teenager standing in the room._

_Damian stood up straight and walked over to the two men, and pulled the bags from their heads. Both men blinked rapidly adjusting to the harsh light beaming down on them like a spotlight showcasing them to the room. They immediately began spewing apologies and promises seeing who was in the room and where they were, not realizing that nothing they said or promised could change the fact that they were both dead men._

_“Shut up.” Damian said coldly to the two men, while watching Bellamy’s reaction. The boy’s face revealed no shock or horror. In fact, it was blank… Completely devoid of emotion. The whole reason he had his son brought here, was in the hopes that he could scare his son a bit and get him to answer some of Damian’s questions. Every other time he asked anything about what happened when Bellamy left, the boys just shrugged and left the room or completely shut down._

_Damian had an idea what happened. He knew his son disappeared for a little over a month, then his beloved Aurora’s killer turns up tortured and murdered, and Bellamy comes home with a completely new reserved, slightly frosty attitude toward him and new ideas about joining the family. It really wasn’t hard to put a theory together, but he wanted solid evidence… Namely his son telling him everything that happened. He wanted to know what happened to make his son act so cold with him._

_“So you say you want to join up son?” Damian asked Bellamy, who just nodded solemnly and said in a quiet tone, “Yes Father, I’m ready.”_

_“Why? Can you tell me why? What happened to having nothing to do with the Family, huh? Just tell me what happened son.” Damian said borderline pleading._

_Bellamy regarded his father with cool eyes and said with a firm voice. “What changed is I realized I was fighting the inevitable. It was naive of me to believe I could be raised in the life and not become involved in it. I’ve accepted my fate, and now it’s time to join the Family.”_

_Damian studied his son. “While you were gone, were you in Seattle? Did you kill Cage after I told you I would handle it?”_

_Bellamy didn’t respond to either questions. He was quickly becoming bored with the line of questioning he was getting._

_Damian nodded, resigned to the fact his son wasn’t going to talk. He had to have his answers, any way he could get them._

_“These two guys defected two weeks ago and were close to being picked up by the Feds to turn over state’s evidence against the Family. I know you know what happens to traitors, but knowing and seeing are two very different things.” Damian finished, turning and pulling his gun shooting one of the men in the head, point blank. He turned back to his son hoping the kid would be shocked or surprised, maybe a little horrified to witness someone being murdered in front of him, but no, his blank expression didn’t slip, not even for a second._

_Damian became frustrated with his sons lack of response to the event unfolding in front of him, and decided desperate times called for drastic measures. He grabbed the barrel of his gun and held it out to his son._

_Bellamy stepped forward and grabbed the handle. He knew what his father wanted and was trying to do. Well if he wanted to know so badly, Bellamy would give him the truth he seemed to crave, but in the end, he would regret wanting to know._

_Turning to the renegade, Bellamy felt no regret for what he was about to do… The man deserved it. He reloaded the gun, aimed and fired. The whole room was shocked._

_Bellamy handed the gun back to his father, and turned, walking to the stairs. He stopped at the base with one foot on the first step and said, looking down, “Yes, I did torture and kill my mother’s murderer, after I saw you doing nothing. I waited a little less than a year for you to do something. I found him within a month, and you practically had a year. There is no excuse for that. It was revealed to me that this was a way to determine whether or not I would join the Family. You intentionally did nothing hoping I would take action, didn’t you?” He asked looking up. The uneasy look sent between his father and uncle let him know everything._

_“Well you got your wish. I’m joining, so for the love of God, stop asking and stop pressing me to talk or answer your ridiculous questions. You pushed me, and now this is what I am, so if you don’t like it, well too bad. It’s on you… I may have handled the knife and the gun that started me down this path, but you’re the one that put them in my hands, so you’re damn straight I’m joining. This is what you wanted after all, right? This is what all the training was for… All the lessons. Well, good for you, getting what you wanted… Comes with a price though.” At their confused looks, Bellamy continued. “My trust. Something neither of you have any more.”_

_With that, he turned and walked up the stairs._

It took some time, but things became less tense with his father and uncle. They accepted the new solemn person he became after becoming a killer, and eventually earned back his trust. A very difficult feat. Bellamy made it clear to Damian and Marcus that if they ever did something to betray his trust again, he would forever be lost to them. There were no third chances in his book.

Bellamy still remembered the way the gun felt in his hand as he took his second life. He remembered thinking the two men were stupid for deserting, knowing they would be found and most definitely killed, but here he was thinking about doing the very same thing.

Bellamy knew he had to give his father a chance to change things, so he made the decision to wait for a while to see what happened and if things got better. If nothing changed, he’d revisit the subject of leaving and joining Jake, or branching out on his own.

Bellamy’s phone rang in his pocket. He answered saying,

“Hello.”

**_XxxX_ **

He was late. He was never late. Bellamy Blake didn’t do late, but here they were, and he was 40 minutes late.

Sitting in the back room, Miller looked around at his brothers. They fidgeted in their seats. They had all shown up on time with their usual loud laughing and bantering, exchanging stories, jokes and brotherly barbs. All of which had slowly quieted down, dissolving into an eerie silence as the minutes passed and Bellamy didn’t appear. Now, almost 40 minutes later, Jasper and Monty were twitching to grab their tech and track him while Murphy, Antonio and Diego were getting ready to split up and go searching for him. The absence of their leader set everyone on edge.

“Something is wrong, I can feel it.” Monty replied quietly.

“Okay, that’s it. Let’s go. Diego and Lucca search the club, Antonio and Romeo check his office, Nate and I will check his apartment. Mont, Jas, be on stand-by and start searching for him in the city using street cameras and facial recognition.” Murphy said standing. Before anyone else could move, Miller spoke.

“Or I could just try to call him.” Everyone looked at him stupidly. Miller rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out, hitting Bellamy’s speed dial number. The phone rang three times before he picked up.

“Hello.” Came Bellamy’s voice sounding a little disembodied. Everyone released a collective breath and relax, just hearing his voice.

“Hey man, where are you? Are you okay?” Miller asked. Murphy began to motion for him to put the call on speaker, so he held his finger up to his lips in a shushing motion and put the call on speaker.

“Wha… Oh shit. Sorry man, I didn’t even see the time. I’ve been… a little distracted.” At this statement, the room tensed again and you could almost taste the anxiety in the room. Bellamy Blake didn’t get distracted or unfocused. It was unheard of. If you lose your focus or get distracted, you get killed. It was as simple as that. “I’m leaving now, I’ll be…”

Bellamy was cut off by a loud voice somewhere in his vicinity shouting “GET DOWN!!” Suddenly the noise of a gunshot sounded through the phone and reverberated in the stunned room. There was the sound of a body hitting the ground from the other end and the line went dead.

The room was completely frozen for a beat, before everyone seemed to move at once. Jasper and Monty lunged for their tablets that were sitting on the table and began to try and locate Bellamy. Meanwhile, Miller then began to repeatedly try to call Bellamy back. The other guys were moving around, but Miller was too focused to notice what they were doing.

After another 30 agonizing minutes, the two boys were able to remotely turn on the tracker that was built into Bellamy’s watch and locate him.

“This is not good, not good at all.” Monty muttered looking at the location.

“Let’s go. Now!!!” Murphy yelled walking briskly out of the room, with everyone following in his wake.

**_XxxX_ **

Opening his eyes, Bellamy saw stars for a moment.

One minute he was talking to Miller, walking to the SUV with Adam behind him, and the next he heard Adam yelling and a suppressed gun shot. He felt the bullet pass his head before he was shoved roughly to the ground hitting his head hard. The impact knocked the breath out of his lungs. He rolled onto his back, hearing two more gun shots.

There was enough time between shots for Adam to pull his gun and get a shot off, before the third shot hit Adam and he fell to the ground. Bellamy turned, trying lift his head to locate the threat, but moving his head just made him dizzy and the edges of his vision fuzzy.

He could hear that the shooter was on a speed bike, and had used a silencer on his or her weapon. As they drove away, Bellamy turned his head, and was able to catch sight of a tattoo on the person’s wrist. Bellamy caught sight of and tried to reach for his phone, but the movement cause black dots to dance in his vision. He felt blood streaming down his face, and his vision began to fade in and out. He didn’t feel any bullet wounds, but wondered if the second bullet had hit him, and he just couldn’t feel it because the adrenaline was numbing his body.

 _Is this how I die?_ He thought before darkness enveloped his consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp... That happened. What do you think? I know you guys can comment, so drop me one ;) Chapter 7 will be up Friday... Remember there is a very special someone being introduced, so let me know what's going on in those lovely minds of yours! Excitement? Over the top excitement? Squealing? Jumping up and down?
> 
> -Redhead17x


	7. Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people... I was too excited to wait and post, so here is chapter 7. It is technically Friday where I am, so we are sticking to our schedule, just as planned. Enjoy my dear readers, enjoy...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 7- Beautiful**

As Bellamy regained consciousness, he heard shouting and commotion in the distance. He felt a small hand probing the wound on his head making him wince and another loosely holding one of his hands. Above him was the most soothing, soft spoken voice he had probably ever heard. The voice was distinctly feminine, and she was asking him to open his eyes. It was impossible to deny such a lovely voice its speaker’s request, so he slowly opened his eyes.

For ten solid seconds, Bellamy for sure thought he was dead because there was no way on God’s green Earth the stunning creature before him was real. It had to be a trick. He soaked in the warmth and compassion that the woman seemed to exude. She had to be an angel.

The first thing Bellamy noticed was her extraordinary blue eyes… The bluest he had ever seen, and they were watching him intently. Bellamy immediately felt sad for being the reason those eyes were full of concern and worry. They were the most alluring sky blue, and seemed to look right through him and pierce his very soul. The next thing that drew his attention was her golden blond hair. It was woven into a long braid that hung over her shoulder. The streetlights cast a warm glow off her hair making it shine like a halo or a crown. She had exquisite fair skin, and an adorable oval face with a sweet smile gracing it. She looked like one of those fairytale princesses from the children’s stories his mother read to him as a child… The ones who were kind and good-natured, helping everyone in the story including the monster.

 _Beautiful._ Bellamy thought looking up at her face. His princess chuckled and said, “You’re not so bad yourself handsome.”

Bellamy blinked realizing he had spoken out loud, and flushed a little, embarrassed for his outburst. She helped him stand up carefully. His head did hurt pretty bad, but he no longer was feeling dizzy or like he was going to blackout again, so that was a plus. He watched her like a hawk as she quickly moved to Adam, who was 2 or 3 feet away and took over applying pressure to his shoulder where he was shot. She began talking to him in quiet tones, asking him his name and occupation to keep him awake.

Bellamy took a moment to take inventory of his own injuries… Head wound, ripped stitches in his arm, and possible concussion. He was doing pretty darn well for a guy who would have had at least two bullets in his chest if not for his bodyguard. He looked around for his phone, spotting it, and picking it up, he knew his guys would be freaking out. He needed to call them. Looking at the screen, he realized his IPhone was completely shattered, and was unusable. He quickly took a look around noticing two people far away with phones taking pictures, but no one else in the vicinity.

The sound of sirens made him look up. He watched as an ambulance rolled up and two male paramedics got out walking over to his princess. They both greeted her with smiles, and began to get to work on Adam. He was losing too much blood with the bullet still in his shoulder, so they had to move quickly. They were both loading him up on a stretcher and into the back, when his princess walked a couple of steps to where he was standing.

Now that Bellamy was standing up straight, he got a full view of his princess. He was a bit surprised to find how short she was. She must have been like 5’4, max, and she was wearing dark blue hospital scrubs. Bellamy subtlety checked her out, and was pleased to find she had a smoking hot little hour-glass body. She wasn’t twig thin… No, she had curves in all the right places. The types of curves that a man could really hold onto. To put it bluntly, her body was downright sinful and tempting. Everything else about her said she was an angel though...

“Hi,” She said sweetly, maybe a little awkwardly. She got a little flustered and blushed saying, “so they are taking Adam to Mount Sinai. Are you ready to go?” She asked. Bellamy just nodded, watching her intently.

He wanted to make sure Adam was going to be okay, and he needed to get to a phone, but most importantly, he had to get the name of his princess. They walked over to the ambulance and climbed in the back. Bellamy sat by Adam’s head. The poor man had passed out unconscious from blood loss.

His princess began giving orders and instructions to the paramedic. Seen as how the hospital was just across the street of the park, the time it took to get to the hospital was maybe five minutes or so.

Once the ambulance pulled up to the ambulance bay, the stretcher was unloaded, and Bellamy followed as they rushed straight into the emergency room. The ER had various beds and curtains set up for patients as well as 3 or 4 exam rooms across the hall of the ER. The emergency room wasn’t too crowded. Only about 3 or 4 of the beds being used for patients. There were various nurses milling around, and occasionally a doctor or two.

Bellamy watched as Adam was wheeled away through a set of double doors marked ‘Authorized Personal Only Beyond This Point’. Bellamy just stood there for a second lost in thought, hoping Adam would be alright and knowing he had people to call, before they all panicked seeing the shooting on the news or something and tore the city apart looking for him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a finger tapping three times on the back of his hand that was hanging at his side, sending bolts of electricity up his arm with every tap. Looking down, he noticed his princess smiling shyly at him. She had grabbed her white lab coat and donned it at some point. “Come on you… Let’s get that head wound looked at.” She said, her eye flickering up to the wound, before settling back on his eyes.

One well known fact about Bellamy Blake was that he didn’t do hospitals. He never went to the doctor’s office or hospital unless his grandmother dragged him by his ear, literally. He always preferred to have the Family doctor look him over in the privacy of his home or just patching himself up. When he got sick, which was a rare occurrence in and of itself, he turned into a real bear… Everyone knew to avoid him like he had the plague when he was sick. Looking into the bright eyes of this enchanting doctor, he found himself following after her wordlessly, without a fuss.

She led him into one of the exam rooms directly across the hall and asked him to sit on the bed. He did as she instructed, smiling internally at how she bossed him around so effortlessly. From the exam bed, he had a clear view of the emergency room and its entrance through the glass window… It was one of those weird one-sided windows.

It was clear to him this woman had no idea who he was, just by the way she treated him, and it was so unbelievably refreshing. He wanted to keep her in the dark for as long as possible if he could.

He noticed she had an ID badge clipped onto the pocket of her coat. The name on it read ‘Griffin, Clarke’. He paused for a moment noticing the last name, he wondered briefly if this was Jake’s daughter, but then he remembered her name was Charlotte, not Clarke, so it was probably just a coincidence that they had the same last name. His also noticed the crown stickers attached haphazardly over the picture and information. Well, that confirmed his princess nickname was spot on.

All those thoughts about her not finding out who he was, came to a crashing halt seconds later when she asked, “Can I get your name mister?”

Bellamy sighed deeply, knowing he was fixing to get bombarded with squealing or very loud exclamations of surprise or a ton of questions like usual when people learned his name. He closed his eyes and hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Bellamy. Bellamy Blake.” He muttered.

“Okie-dokie.” She responded easily.

Bellamy looked up to see her writing on a chart. She looked so unbelievably cute with the crease between her eyebrows and biting her bottom lip as she concentrated on what she was writing.

“That’s it?” Bellamy asked confused. “You don’t know who I am?” He usually at least got a wide eyed stare.

It was Clarke’s turn to get confused, she turned and looked at him. “Yes, of course I do. It’s Bellamy Blake. You just told me silly, remember?” She chuckled a little. “Wow, maybe you hit your head harder than I thought.” She murmured the last part to herself as she walked over to stand in front of him and pulled her pen light, starting to check his pupil response.

Bellamy felt relief at her answer. “So you don’t read gossip magazines?” He asked for clarification.

“I don’t like reading those types of magazines… Half of the stuff in them are fabricated, and the remaining stuff is the twisted mangled truth. Instead of paying to read an issue, someone would have to pay me to read it, and even then I don’t know if I would.” She rambled a little toward the end, with a shake of her head.

“Okay, business section in the newspaper then?” Bellamy challenged.

“Of course… When I need something to put me to sleep.” She said cheekily. “Not really.”

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Bellamy grinned.

“Nope.” She said with a small rueful smiled, she turned serious and said, “So, Mr. Blake,”

“Please Princess, call me Bellamy.” He said still grinning. He definitely did not like her being so formal with him, and he was still over the moon that she didn’t have the slightest inkling of who he was.

“Princess?” She questioned, with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Damn,_ Bellamy thought, _I slipped up again. What is it about her that has me tripping up like a freaking teenager?_

“Uhh… Yeah, you’re ID.” He said pointing at the badge quickly for a cover. She looked down and understanding came over her face.

“Ah, yes, well my dear three-year-old patient, Susie, just loves princesses, and wanted to use the sticker book I gave her to decorate me with stickers. She settled for my ID badge, and so I count myself lucky not to have a face full of stickers.” She finished playfully. Bellamy just chuckled. “But you can call me Clarke.”

“I don’t think so Princess, the nickname has stuck.” She just rolled her eyes.

“Well, _Bellamy,_ ” She said putting special emphasis on his name, and grinning a little. “Your head wound isn’t too deep, so a thorough cleaning and a butterfly bandage or two should do the trick. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

God, the way she said his name sent chills down his spine, and while she was trying to be stern when asking him about any other injuries, she just succeeded in looked like a ferocious little kitten. She was so cute. Bellamy mentally slapped himself. Did he really just think that? _Yes. Yes, you did._ His subconscious sniffed. He had just used the word cute to describe someone. He didn’t think he had ever described anything in his life, as cute. Dear God, what was happening to him? He was going soft, all for a woman he had met all of 30 minutes ago. He desperately needed to get a grip.

Bellamy cleared his throat and told her his arm needed stitches. He took one arm out of his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeve for her to see, while still concealing his gun. She nodded and got to work on his head injury first. She was so close to him; he could smell her intoxicating scent… Lavender. All he had to do was move a few inches closer, and he would be kissing her.

“So can you tell me what happened while I was out of it?” Bellamy asked abruptly, hoping to distract himself from her and her tempting lip biting.

“Well, I was on my way home from a double shift here, and I heard the gun shots. They weren’t very loud at all. I bet your bad guy used a suppressor.” She mused. Bellamy opened his mouth to ask her how she knew about something like that, but she continued talking. “I was close enough to recognize them for what they were, even with my sleep deprived brain.” It was then that Bellamy noticed the dark circles under her eyes that seemed even more pronounced in the harsh lighting of the room. Not even that could take away from her beauty though. “Anyway, I ran the short distance around the corner to where I thought I heard them, and saw you and your guy on the ground. I called 911, while applying pressure to Adam’s gunshot wound, and then when I got off the phone, I had Adam apply pressure on his wound while I checked on you to make sure you were okay.”

Bellamy was momentarily distracted by her soft fingers moving gently over his head wound as she applied the first bandage, but then her words caught up with him.

 “Wait, so you ran toward gun shots? Really smart move Princess.” Bellamy snapped sarcastically. The idea of her putting herself in danger like she did made him furious. Terrifying possibilities ran through his mind. What if the attacker had hurt her, or shot her, or kidnapped her? His protective instincts washed over him like a tidal wave… The very idea of her not being safe put him on edge.

“Well excuse me _Mr. Blake_ , for trying to help you, and saving your guy’s life. Next time, I’ll just waltz right past.” She fired back just as sarcastic. It didn’t escape Bellamy’s notice her use of his last name instead of his first.

Bellamy sighed heavily. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do.

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had to genuinely apologize to someone that wasn’t his grandmother. “You could have been hurt though… Why put yourself in danger like that?” Bellamy asked a little confused.

“Because someone could have been hurt.” She said simply, shrugging her shoulders. “And I was right, so just be glad I was there, and able to help.” Bellamy was in awe of this woman. She walked into a potentially dangerous situation, with a very real possibility of being hurt, just to help strangers. That had to be either the most stupid or the most selfless thing Bellamy had ever heard of. Watching the doctor working, Bellamy decided it had to be in her nature to be so caring and selfless.

Clarke had finished with his head wound and was pulling out the stuff she needed to stitch up his arm. She asked him to lie on the bed, and tilted it so it was reclined upward to where he was basically sitting up.

“Okay Mr. Blake,” She paused seeing Bellamy’s frowning facial expression, “I mean Bellamy. I can’t give you anything to help with the pain, because I’m concerned you might have a concussion, would you like for me to numb the area before I start?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” She gave a short nod and got to work.

“So how long have you been in New York City?” Bellamy asked curiously.

“Well actually, I just moved here… Oh… Around a month and a half ago? I love the fast pace of the city, but unfortunately I haven’t gotten a real chance to go exploring and see some of the sights or landmarks.”

“Why?” Bellamy asked confused.

“I’ve spent most of my time here working… Being new means you get all the work.” She said ruefully. “But I should be getting set scheduled for during the week here soon, so that means weekends off and hopefully only one or two night shifts during the week.” She finished happily.

Bellamy nodded thoughtfully. “What kind of doctor are you? Do you have a specialty?”

“Currently I’m a general surgeon, but I work in pediatrics mostly, and occasionally here in the ER... I’m a year away from being board certified as a pediatric surgeon.” She said the last sentence a bit hesitantly, but tried to cover it by saying, “Is there someone that you need me to call for you?”

Before he could question her or tell her no, there was a commotion by the ER entrance doors that drew his attention. Bellamy watched as his guys came bursting through the door, looking haggard and distraught. This was not going to be good.

**_XxxX_ **

As the guys got to the ER entrance, Jasper and Monty lost the signal. Before anyone could panic at the implication, Miller stepped forward and stopped a passing nurse.

“Hi, look, I’m looking for someone who was brought in about 15-20 minutes ago. Possible gunshot wound?” He asked trying to avoid saying Bellamy’s name. The nurse said she couldn’t tell him anything if he wasn’t a family member, then walked off.

He stopped two other nurses before Murphy finally got fed up, rolled his eyes at Miller’s attempt to be discreet, and stomped over to the nurse’s desk. He quickly walked behind the desk, pulled away both rolling chairs containing two very disgruntled nurses, and climbed on the desk.

“Attention all inhabitants of the room. Has anyone seen a man that could pass the tall, dark, and handsome test with flying colors? He…” Murphy stopped, spotting a burly female nurse reaching for a phone on the wall. He pointed at her and said, “I swear if you touch that phone Brunhilda, I’ll have your ass fired by morning, mark my words.” She glared at him but lowered her big meaty hands. Murphy glared back and huffed. “Now, where was I? Oh yeah… He quite possibly has several bullet wounds.”

The room was quite for a beat before a cocky teenager on one of the hospital beds said with an attitude, “Dude, sounds like the guy you’re looking for is already in the morgue.”

Murphy glowered at the kid, the rest of his guys seemed to pale at the grim realization of the morgue being the location of their fearless leader.

Monty started to pace and mutter “Oh God…” Over and over again, while the others seemed to be in shock.

Antonio stepped forward and said, “He’s not in the morgue. I think we’d know if Bellamy freaking Blake was dead don’t you?” Miller, Diego and Murphy nodded solemnly.

“Okay, everybody stay calm. Just stay freaking calm!” Lucca said getting more and more worked up. “We’re just missing our person who is possibly dying of massive injuries… And he. Is. Missing!!! Possibly dead. But it’s fine… Oh my God, he’s dead. We. Are. Not. Fine. We are like at DEFCON One right now people!” Jasper walked forward and shook Lucca’s shoulders harshly.

“Lucca! Snap out of it! He’s not dead. If he were dead, he’d come back as a ghost and tell us to avenge him like in Hamlet. You know that was his favorite play.” Jasper paused for a moment, raising one of his hands to rub his neck absently while looking at the floor and saying quietly. “I really hate that book. Man, I’m going to miss him.”

Murphy jumped down from the desk and glared at Jasper, “He’s not a freaking ghost. He’d be a zombie stupid.” The whole ER had already gone back to what they were doing, ignoring the arguing men.

“Oh Lord!!!” Miller, Diego, and Antonio all groaned at the same time, as the other boys got into a tense debate on whether zombie or ghosts were more terrifying and also more likely to exist. Such a ridiculous subject to be debating, especially at such a terrible time in the middle of an emergency room of all places. No one noticed Romeo slipping away.

All of a sudden, a shrill whistle pierced the air, causing all the boys to freeze. They knew that whistle.

Jasper turned smug, and turned to Murphy who was frighteningly pale looking around nervously. “Ha! I told you ghosts trump zombies any day of the week. He’s a freaking ghost! Oh… Not it by the way!” At everyone’s confused look, Jasper clarified. “To tell Damian he’s dead. That is one scary dude, and well, I’m not Jenifer Love Hewitt here people.” Jasper said with a roll of his eyes.

In the exam room, Bellamy watched through the window as Murphy paled hearing his whistle, and grinned. The poor guy really hated anything that even remotely had anything to do with ghosts. Bellamy couldn’t help messing with him a little more, so he called out a loud barking, “Murphy!”, like he usually did when he was calling the other man. He watched with amusement as Murphy fell to his knees, made the sign of the cross, he squeezed his eyes closed and began moving his lips in a silent prayer.

He again hollered “Murphy get you butt in here, and quit messing around. I don’t have time for your shenanigans!” Murphy’s eyes snapped open and he looked around again, now wondering where the voice was coming from. The rest of the guys followed suit, until finally, Lucca got fed up and yelled “Marco!”

Clarke had just finished the last stitch, and watched with amusement as Bellamy grinned and called back, “Polo!”

They did that once more before the tiny room was filled with seven relieved guys all cramming in. Bellamy had to stop Jasper and Monty from crawling up the bed like three-year-olds to get to Bellamy, and Murphy and Lucca from dog piling on top of him is hugs. Miller, Diego, and Antonio stood closer to the door, but were just as relieved to see their Boss alive, well, and no worse for wear.

Bellamy heard a sweet giggle and turned his head to see Clarke grinning at him with a raised eyebrow. “I assume all these are yours?” She said waving to everyone.

Suddenly all the attention on him was gone, and it shifted to Clarke. Jasper and Monty were on her before Bellamy could blink, both asking her questions so fast, she couldn’t even possibly attempt to answer the questions even if she tried. Questions like her name, age, if that was her natural hair color and her favorite movie. After a minute or so, they both slowed down, ending with Jasper stating bluntly “You’re really hot.” Monty glared at Jasper and slapped him on the back of his head.

Bellamy was mortified. They didn’t know the definition of subtle or tact. Clarke looked to be far too amused by the two boys to be freaked out or scared by his troublesome duo. She just grinned at both boys, and turned to Bellamy saying playfully, “They are adorable. Where can I get a set?”

“You can have mine.” Bellamy grumbled, not liking having his guys ogle her the way that they were… Dare he say it? He felt jealous.

Murphy stepped forward, and reached up pushed both boys out of the way by the side of their heads and put on his most charming smile, “Hi Doc… Names John Murphy. Would you happen to have a band aid on you by any chance?” Clarke ginned a bit confused, but checked her pockets any way, and pulled out a pink Dora the Explore band aid. She held it out for him to take.

Murphy put both of his hands over his heart and said, “Thank-goodness!! You see, I just scraped my knee falling for you.” He finished, grasping her whole out stretched hand holding the band aid, and kissing the back of her hand. Clarke laughed at the same time Bellamy made a low menacing growling noise, so she didn’t hear it.

“Does that line actually work for you?” She asked Murphy still grinning.

“I dunno, you tell me… Did it work?” He asked waggling his eyebrows.

Clarke broke down in another fit of giggles, saying, “No way, you cheese monster.”

All of his guys cracked up at the last two words. She was so innocent, and her smile was contagious. Anyone who could simultaneously call Murphy a cheese monster and have him smiling about it, was a keeper in their own rite.

Murphy held his heart in mock hurt but didn’t say another word due to the piercing glare Bellamy was throwing his way.

“Wait a minute. We’re missing one.” Bellamy said looking around the room. “Where in the world is Romeo? He would have made a move on Clarke before he even stepped across the threshold.” Bellamy said in exasperation.

It was then everyone noticed the missing brother. Antonio, who was closest to the door, poked his head outside the door and looked both ways down the hall. There low and behold, was Romeo wearing scrubs and a white lab coat, off to the side of the hall with a pretty little dark haired nurse backed up to the wall. He looked to be putting all the moves on her. Antonio whistled, making Romeo look up. He nodded, and turned back to the nurse, kissing the stunned woman heatedly, before pulling back. She gave him a nice slap across the face before pulling him in for another brief make out session. The nurse then pulled a pen and wrote her number on his palm.

Romeo winked at her and turned walked away toward Bellamy’s room. He waltzed in with a smirk on his half red face, and closing the door behind him.

He spotted Clarke immediately and swooped in like a hawk would its prey. “Hey… I’m Romeo. So you’re a doctor… That’s so awesome. I’m thinking you should thoroughly examine me. I seem to be desperately lacking some Vitamin U.” He gave her a once over and said in a smooth voice, “Actually, I think you're lacking some Vitamin Me. We should help each other out. Trust my diagnosis, I’m a doctor.” He finished with his signature wink. Bellamy face palmed, hoping his girl wouldn’t fall for Romeo’s pretty boy face. _Damn it!! Not your girl. Just A girl._ Bellamy scolded himself and his stupid possessiveness, which it seemed he was just now learning about.

“Ah, okay… A Romeo who lives up to his name. Well then, while it is nice to meet you, do you want to tell me how you got your hands on those clothes?” Romeo’s face fell, seeing as his charm wasn’t working quite like he wanted it. Bellamy was internally equal parts relieved and thrilled. He had to catch himself before he fist pumped the air, like an idiot.

“Uh… I found ‘em?” Romeo questioned with a nonchalant shrug. Clarke’s shrewd gaze cut the man down to the quick, and had him spilling his guts. “Okay, I got distracted by a fine little body walking by in the ER, and by the time I tracked her down to a lounge somewhere, and got her number, I was lost. I found the coat on the back of a chair, and the scrubs in an on-call room. Scored three numbers with this get up and a pickup line or two… Not including the first girl.”

“God, this is more dramatic than an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.” Murphy muttered louder than he thought. The whole room turned to stare wide eyed at Murphy.

“You watch that crap, Murphy?” Miller asked astonished. Murphy looked like a deer caught in the head lights.

“Uh…” Looking around, he threw his hands in the air with exasperation. “Yeah, I’ve seen some of the damn episodes. I have a little sister, you know, Katie, who loves the show, so… Get over it.”

“Huh. Well how about that.” Miller muttered to himself thoughtfully, blushing a little at the mention of Katie Monroe. Monroe was Murphy’s adoptive parent’s biological child. Murphy loved and doted on his little sister like mad, and was ridiculously protective… She knew the guys, and each one of them, save Miller, considered her a little sister, including Bellamy. Bellamy sometimes felt bad for her due to the fact that she was romantically off limits to everyone per Murphy’s say-so. She worked as a nurse in this very same hospital. Bellamy knew of the crush Miller was harboring for the 23-year-old and the reason why he never pursued the girl. It was out of respect for Murphy, the guy code they had, and her age… Well that and the fact that Murphy quite possibly would shoot Miller.

Murphy didn’t hear Miller’s mutterings, because he was too distracted by the sight of Romeo begging Clarke to let him keep the scrubs at least. She was firm in her no.

“Romeo, those are someone else’s. They could be looking for them. You’ve got to give them back.” Clarke explained to Romeo, like he was a four-year-old rather than a grown man.

Before he could open his mouth again, Antonio declared, “Can it McDreamy, the lady said no.” Clarke smiled warmly at him, making him grin a little shyly, blushing.

Miller groaned. “You too Antonio? Et tu Brute? What is the meaning of this betrayal?”

Antonio shrugged. “Fell asleep the other night, and woke up with the T.V. playing a new episode of the show. The remote was on the coffee table out of reach, and I was not moving to get it. The show’s addicting as hell.”

“I know right? I still can’t believe they killed Derek.” Diego rumbled sadly with a shake of his head.

“I’m done… So done.” Miller said throwing his hands in the air.

Clarke grinned and said to Diego, “Don’t worry big guy… That was the whole world’s reaction. You aren’t alone.”

“I dropped Monty’s toothbrush in the toilet the other morning on accident!” Jasper blurted out rather unceremoniously. He sagged and said dramatically, swiping his forehead, “Man, am I glad to have that off my chest.”

The room paused for a bet before various voices expressed shock and disbelief, none louder than Monty, who screeched, “What?!”

“Um… Is this not the time for confessions?” Jasper asked confused. “I was under the impression it was, and we were just confessing random things. In the case it’s not, what I said is null and void…” Jasper said primly.

“Ugh!!! No it’s not Jasper! I use that toothbrush… Every. Single. Day.” Monty said heatedly.

“I plead the fifth! I have rights damn it!” Jasper snipped, in an outraged voice. Monty looked like he was ready to strangle the other man, but Clarke interrupted before he could make a move.

“While I find all of you terribly funny and entertaining, I do need to get going.” Clarke said, earning various sighs and sad faces from all the guys. “I’ll go get your paper work ready Bellamy and send the nurse back with everything. Also, I do believe there are a couple of officers wishing to speak with you about what happened, so I’ll send them in okay?” She said looking at him.

Bellamy nodded, caught her hand before she could leave, and asked quietly while the other guys were busy talking with one another. “Will you bring the papers back, Princess?” Bellamy knew she must have been exhausted, but couldn’t let her get away just yet. “Please?”

She nodded her head and gave him a sweet smile. “Sure, no problem. I’ll be back in a jiffy, okay?” Bellamy just nodded.

Everyone watched as she gathered her things, and exited the room with a wave and a quick ‘Bye’, closing the door behind her. Bellamy swung his legs over the side of the bed, so he was sitting on the edge.

He rolled his sleeve back down, put his suit jacket on right so it covered his gun, and got down to business.

Speaking in a serious voice, he started issuing his orders quickly. “Okay boys, we’re going hunting. Monty, Jasper, I need all security footage from Central Park and surrounding areas copied and wiped. Help the guys track this man down if you can. I don’t need the cops knocking at my door when the bastard who tried to kill me ends up missing. I also need a new phone, you know the deal… Updated version, same settings and contacts. There were also two people in the park taking photo’s… Is there a way to get those erased before they get out?” Both boys nodded. “Okay, see that it is done.” Bellamy turned to Diego and said, “I need you, Lucca and Romeo to hunt this guy down. Use whatever means you need, but I want him found… Alive. There are quite a few people who could have sent him, and I want to know who. The only clues I picked up was he was African American, could possibly have a gunshot wound, courtesy of Adam, and that he had a tattoo on his arm. It looked almost…” Bellamy struggled for a word. “… Tribal?” He tried. “Just find him. Romeo… Lose the scrubs. Antonio, Miller, you’re staying with me, and Murphy… Prep the basement, I have a feeling we’re gonna need it.” Murphy nodded, as there was a knock on the door. “Okay, go. Watch your backs… All of you.”

Everyone filed out of the room, except for Miller and Antonio who took up bodyguard stances behind him. Two male police officers walked in right after the last one of his guys walked out. One officer was a shady looking blonde, while the other had dark brown hair and looked well groomed. He was maybe in his early to mid-30’s, while the blonde man was in is mid-20’s. The brown haired guy was obviously in charge.

“Holding court, Mr. Blake?” Blonde said snidely. Officer Higgins, according to his name tag. Bellamy could already tell he was going to have a problem with the man… He was cocky.

Bellamy watched as the older officer glared at the younger man. Bellamy proceeded to ignore the younger man, and shook hands with the officer in charge, Officer Dekker as he introduced himself.

“Your two goons can beat it.” Officer Prick said with a sneer.

Bellamy shook his head and said coolly, “I don’t think so. They stay, or you can go. Your pick… Officer.” He finished sarcastically. As the man went to open his mouth, Officer Dekker cut him off.

“That’s perfectly fine Mr. Blake, can you tell me everything you remember about what happened.” Officer Dekker asked solemnly.

“It’s not a lot honestly. I was walking, talking on the phone, and next thing I know, my bodyguard is shoving me to the ground. I heard a gunshot, before I blacked out. That’s it.” Bellamy said unhelpfully, purposely leaving things out and changing things around.

The Family preferred to solve their own crimes and never really called or cooperated efficiently with the police, unless there was some greater plan in play… It was Omerta Law. Of course the Family had evolved over the years, and adapted to the changes that came with modernization, so some of the rules had changed, but that one pretty much stayed the same.

Higgins scoffed loudly. “Of course he has nothing to say that is helpful. He’s in the damn Mob for Christ’s sake.” Bellamy really didn’t like the man.

“I’m sorry?” Bellamy asked with practiced confusion. “An experienced officer, such as yourself, must have proof to accompany an outlandish claim, correct Officer Higgins?” Bellamy said with a hint of bite and a load of sarcasm. The man in question looked livid, but before he could open his mouth, Bellamy continued. “It would be terrible to have tell New York City’s mayor that his so called ‘finest’, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Running around, accusing, without evidence mind you, this city’s biggest contributor. I would hate to pull my police funding, which is paying for those upgraded precincts that are being built and sue your ass for slander.”

Higgins looked positively murderous. “Is that a threat Blake? I could arrest you and charge you with contempt. Besides… It’s not slander if it’s the truth.”

Bellamy grinned “While I would love to see you try, I don’t think you’re going to. You don’t seem to understand the power I have in this situation. I attend numerous charity and public events and galas that bring me in contact with not only the mayor and the governor, but several of the upper echelon of the NYPD. I am on a first name bases with each of them. Hell, I have the City Police Commissioner’s cell phone number on speed dial. Now, with how stupid you’re acting, I’m going to take an educated guess that you’re a recruit officer.” The younger man’s face gave away the truth Bellamy was speaking. “Ah, you are, well let me tell you how things around here go. I make a call to William, the commissioner, and tell him of the harassment and slander I have endured by you, and by extension, your partner over there,” Bellamy said pointing at the silent dark haired officer, “And then, before I even have to say another word, he’ll have both your asses on suspension, pending an investigation. If I were you, I would watch what you say to me.” Bellamy finished darkly. The blonde haired officer glared at Bellamy. It had absolutely no effect whatsoever on the rebel.

Bellamy didn’t break eye contact as he held his hand out to Antonio, who slipped his own phone into his Boss’s hand. This seemed to snap Officer Dekker into action, and he opened the door leading out of the room, and roughly shoved Higgins through.

Bellamy heard Dekker tell Higgins “Stand there and don’t move. I’ll deal with you later.” Before he stepped back into the room. “I’m sorry about that Mr. Blake. He’s new, and still getting used to things.” He finished his excuses for his partner. Bellamy just raised an eyebrow. Dekker cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, do you have any enemies Mr. Blake?”

“Yes, I have enemies, starting with every pissed off CEO, whose company I have ever hostilely taken over or bought, all the way to disgruntled employees who have been fired for poor work performance. If you really believe you have the time for it, please, by all means, take a shot at the case.” Miller and Antonio snickered at Bellamy’s wording. Bellamy ignored both men and carried on. “But I’m telling you now, you will be sorting through information and following dead ends for months. I won’t even press charges if you do find the guy, so you are essentially wasting your time. I’m going to do you a favor. You’ll get a call tomorrow morning from your boss, and the case will be dropped. Understand?” Dekker nodded hesitantly.

“Don’t do anything stupid Dekker. Oh, and it would probably be in your best interest to look into getting a muzzle and a leash for your mutt out there too. He could have cost you your job today, but I like you, so I’ll let it slip this time.” Bellamy said warningly. “Is that all the information you need detective?” Bellamy asked politely.

Dekker shook his head yes, not having the nerve to speak. “Great. It was nice meeting you.” Bellamy said shaking the man’s hand and essentially dismissing him. The officer caught the hint, and left quietly, dragging Higgins to the ER entrance and disappearing.

Antonio and Miller started laughing their asses off, after holding it in for a while. Bellamy shook his head and handed Antonio his phone back.

Miller finally stopped laughing enough to ask “Muzzle and leash boss? God, I thought I was gonna bust a gut with how hard I was trying to not laugh out loud, and don’t even get me started on that pun.” After another round of laughter, Bellamy saw Clarke approaching and told his guys to go get the car. They both exited, right as Clarke was walking in.

“Oh, bye guys. It was nice to meet you both.” She smiled at both of them brightly. “Try to keep him out of here, huh?” She said pointing at Bellamy. Antonio nodded and smiled and said good-bye, while Miller just stared at her strangely, before saying a polite, “Yes, Ma’am.” Then they were gone, and it was just Bellamy and Clarke.

“Okay Bellamy, for any pain, take over-the-counter Tylenol. If possible, stay with someone for 24 hours, so they can monitor if you get worst. If you develop a headache that seems to be getting worse, vomiting, increased drowsiness or dizziness, or increased confusion, I want you to come back right away okay?” Bellamy nodded. He didn’t bother telling her he’d had numerous concussions before, and knew how to treat one. He enjoyed listening to her talking to him, and the genuine care he saw in her blue gaze.

“Have you heard anything about Adam? I assumed they would let me know how he was doing, but I haven’t heard anything.” Bellamy asked with worry lacing his voice.

“Actually, that’s what took me so long. I went and checked on him for you. Doctor Emori Koss, is his surgeon, and she told me he should make a full recovery. He was extremely lucky the bullet didn’t hit an artery or any important nerves.”

Bellamy was immensely relieved he was okay, and would make a full recovery. He was glad he had Jones coming in on Monday, because he would be taking over Adam’s position as his bodyguard, until Adam could come back, then they would work together.

Bellamy watched his princess for another minute or so as she filled out an instruction sheet for him. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Hey Princess, you said you were on your way home when you heard the shots. Where do you live?” Bellamy asked casually.

“A couple of blocks from the park on the Upper West Side.” She replied distractedly, still intently focusing on her writing.

Bellamy took advantage of her distraction and asked, “You walk through the park whenever you have to go to and from work?”

“Sure do.”

“Even at night? All alone?” He prompted, his anger rising.

“Yep.” She responded, still completely oblivious to his line of questioning, or Bellamy’s rising fury.

Bellamy took a deep breath and calmed himself. “Well, can I take you home tonight?”

She looked up for the first time. “Oh… I would really love that, but I have a 15 hour shift again tomorrow starting at 6 A.M. By the time I get home and settled, I’d just be turning around and getting up a couple hours later, to come back in, so I’m going to find an empty on call room, and sleep as much as possible. I really appreciate the offer though.” She said genuinely. Bellamy felt a bit guilty at being the reason she wasn’t already home asleep, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret that he got to meet her, even in such distressful circumstances.

They went through the paperwork and discharge papers, and he signed and initialed where she told him to, and he was free to go. Standing from the bed, Bellamy took a step toward the door before pausing. He gently took her right hand in his left… He again felt the electricity humming between them. He gazed deeply into her beautiful blue eyes and murmured, “Thanks, Princess… For everything. I owe you one.”

He watched as she blushed the most enticing pink color at the intensity of his gaze, and couldn’t help the male pride that bubbled in his chest at the sight. Not one of his guys had made her blush, and he felt happy to be the only one to have seen it and been the cause of it. She looked away.

“It was lovely to meet you Bellamy.” She said softly, still blushing and looking away. “Take care of yourself, okay? I really don’t want to see you back in here with another injury.” It was then that she looked up at him and gave him a warm, heart-stopping smile. She squeezed his hand, and then she was gone, leaving Bellamy with his heart in his throat as her words sunk in.

They sounded like more of a goodbye than he would have hoped for. She didn’t even say anything about taking him up on the favor he now owed her… She was so unbelievably different from every other woman he had ever met. If she did, by some happen stance, know who he was, she gave nothing away. Leave it to his princess to be the only one in his world to throw him for a loop and stump him.

Bellamy exited the room and the ER, headed toward the waiting car. He slipped in the backseat, and said to Miller who was driving, “Lets hit the club.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am dying to see what you all think of this chapter... Did it live up to your expectations? Did anyone call it happening like this? Did it completely shock the hell out of you? Whose pumped to see who tried to kill Bellamy next chapter? REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW!
> 
> I've gotten a couple of reviews asking if Clarke's going to be a badass in this story. Lemme tell you this... It is practically impossible for me not to write her as a badass at some point. Believe me, it'll happen, but keep in mind... With this story, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS.
> 
> SPOILERS FOR NEXT CHAPTER: The shooter is caught and tortured, the people who are behind it are revealed, and, well, Bellamy can't seem to get his amazing blonde doctor off his mind.
> 
> -Redhead17x
> 
> (P.S.- Thank you to everyone who commented last chapter for the phenomenal comments... You all are so great for taking the time to let me know your thoughts. Thank you also to everyone who bookmarked, subscribed, or left me kudos... You're all amazing.)


	8. Revenge and Torture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've decided to do a surprise early update because I HAVE THE BEST FRIGGIN READERS EVER!!! Seriously, you all are so amazing, and it just blows me away sometimes how much all of you are loving this story. Keep letting me know people!!! Since I didn't quite know how to express my gratitude, I figured this would do, so this chapter is a big giant THANK YOU to everyone for reading, leaving me kudos, bookmarking, subscribing, and especially commenting on my story ;)
> 
> I've had some of you worried the shooter is Lincoln, and so before you read, let me assure you... It isn't Lincoln. You'll see who it is in this chapter. Which leads me to my next order of business... The warning.
> 
> WARNING and DISCLAIMER: There is a graphic torture scene here people, again... Its the Mafia. I own nothing but my plot and my original characters. So, enjoy...

**Chapter 8- Revenge and Torture**

On the drive to the club, Bellamy was lost in his own thoughts, thinking of golden blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. Just being in her presence for an hour felt like being on a long vacation somewhere warm, but like all vacations, they end and people have to return to reality and now that is what he had to do. His dismal reality included torturing and killing the man who tried to kill him, and dealing with his overbearing uncle or father, possibly both, who were more than likely waiting somewhere ready to ambush and interrogate him about everything that happened.

Bellamy sighed deeply. Despite the public shooting, and being the target of said shooting, he hoped his father still heeded his warning about not wanting to see him ‘til the beginning of the week, and stayed away. He really didn’t want to have to deal with his dad… Not after the whirlwind of a day he’d just had.

Pulling up to the club, Miller pulled the car to the side entrance, and then around back through the gate, where the garage was located. Bellamy remembered how it took months to complete the additions and renovations on the club…

_When Romeo first got to New York, he and Diego took to the life like naturals, and Bellamy couldn’t have been more pleased with their progress, but, at the same time, Bellamy noticed Romeo struggling to find an idea of what he wanted to do outside of the life. He loved street racing, and when Diego gave that up to become a lawyer, he became lost for a little while. He partied a lot, drank more and wallowed in women, until Bellamy put his foot down. Bellamy had finally had enough, and pushed Romeo to use his knowledge about cars, from his street racing days, to get a degree in Automobile Maintenance Technology, and open his own shops. He worked on all the guys’ cars already, so it was only natural for him to use his talent and skills for a career._

_A few months before Romeo was set to graduate, Bellamy brought all the guys in to remodel the whole club including adding a massive garage on the vacant end of the lot. The whole thing brought all the guys closer together, and became a real bonding experience for all of them, including Bellamy._

_Murphy drew up the plans for the remodeled dance floors and updating Bellamy’s office and conference room, and then adding the huge garage on the back of the building. The whole second and third floors were overhauled and redesigned. The second floor VIP boxes were moved to run along the two side walls, with small private balconies overlooking the first floor, and was only accessible by stairs, guarded by security. They were rented out for a pretty penny, but were very opulent and much sought after._

_The third floor was rearranged to have Bellamy’s office and attached conference room above the DJ equipment while Monty and Jasper got a whole room for their computer equipment and systems, but the most impressive thing was the massive hang out spot for all of the boys. Monty and Jasper named it the House of Hades, which was the palace of the king of the underworld in Greek Mythology. Eventually it was shortened to just ‘The House’, after one too many jokes about going to hell were thrown out. It offered a spectacular view of the club through one-sided sound proof glass. It was decorated with large couches, and a huge entertainment system that covered an entire wall, complete with every gaming console the boys could think of or ever want. They had a pool table, Foosball, a bar, and a poker table._

_Miller did most of the construction on the place, while Lucca set up the energy storage grid for the club and the lighting. Diego got all the permits for the renovations and additions on the place approved, and worked to ensure the basement went unreported during any inspections. When the club was first built, the basement was never sanctioned or listed in the basic layout of the club. The idea was that if the club was ever raided by the police, they couldn’t search a basement that they didn’t know existed, because it didn’t show up on the blueprints in any records. The entrance was so well concealed, that there was no probable chance someone could ‘accidentally’ stumble across it._

_Antonio, Jasper, and Monty, all had a blast setting up the security and tech for the place. Antonio set up the security cameras, CCTV, and alarms both in the club and around its perimeter, while Jasper and Monty set up the network and network security, as well as all the DJ equipment and the entertainment system in the boys’ hang out room._

_Once the garage was built, Lucca and Diego went in and fully equipped the place with every tool Romeo could ever possibly need or use. It was going to be Romeo’s own personal garage to use to build his own cars, and repair the crew’s vehicles too. Bellamy figured it was safer to have Romeo working on their vehicles in a secure location, so they for sure knew they weren’t being tampered with while getting maintenance done._

_Romeo about fainted when the garage was unveiled. While the renovations on the club was common knowledge, the garage was kept secret, in order to surprise Romeo. Romeo was so happy with it, and so grateful, he went in and set aside some space for Monty and Jasper to use when they worked on their gadgets and tech._

_When Romeo eventually opened more garages all across the city, with a little help from Bellamy, he still took care of his first garage and was found there more often than not. He once told Bellamy how thankful he was that Bellamy stumbled across him and his brother, and took them in, even though he didn’t have too, and probably didn’t want to either. He remarked on how he loved the place, and he loved his work, and it was all possible because of Bellamy. Bellamy of course made light of the man’s words with some teasing, but he took those words to heart, and never forgot them._

_The club became their safe haven of sorts. It was their sanctuary. They always had a place to come and just be. They didn’t have to pretend inside the walls of the club._

The car shutting off, and doors opening startled Bellamy. He quickly got out of the car, giving a cursory look around just as Miller and Antonio did too. The public shooting today had set him on edge, but he didn’t show a hint of apprehension outwardly. He didn’t need to show his alarm to his guys, and distract them by having them worry about him. What alarmed him, other than the obvious, was the way the assailant came at him. Out in public, with numerous witnesses and security cameras, and at dusk, when there was light still out… It was sloppy and unpredictable, and that was what concerned Bellamy the most.

They walked into the garage, past the cars Romeo had sitting there and Murphy’s Ducati, and up the stairs to the third level of the club. The only way to access the garage from the club was through an entrance on the third floor. No need for a bunch of drunks stumbling in and around power tools… That’s just asking for trouble. They walked through the door, straight down the hall, past the House door and Monty and Jasper’s tech room, to Bellamy’s office.

Bellamy knew he had a bit of work he could do while he waited for his guys to find his would-be-assassin. He had neglected the club a bit this past week, too caught up in the mess of everything else going on around him, so he waved his two guys off as he walked into his office and settled in for a couple of hours of work, but before he got too deep into club business, he had a call to make to the Police Commissioner.

Lying on his desk was a new IPhone, left for him by either Monty or Jasper, fully operational and secure, ready to be used. Bellamy wasn’t kidding when he said he had the man’s number on speed dial. Finding the number he was looking for, he tapped the screen. It took four rings for the commissioner to pick up.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end snapped annoyed and slightly groggy. The old geezer was asleep already at 11 o’clock on a Friday night.

“Good evening William… Bellamy Blake speaking.” Bellamy stated calmly.

The change was noticeable. After brief throat clearing, the voice came back more awake, and definitely more nervous. “Mr. Blake. I apologize. What can I do for you?”

“I had a little incident happen earlier in the evening… Shooting in the park. I need it cleared up, and cleared up fast. No investigation. I want the whole thing dropped, and not a word mentioned to the media. I don’t need this affecting my stock prices, or the acquisitions and projects I have going on at the moment. It’s bad for business. Do you understand?” Bellamy asked seriously.

“I understand Mr. Blake. Consider it done.” The commissioner agreed easily. No one went against Bellamy Blake… It was practically suicide.

“Good. Have a nice weekend.” Bellamy said politely before ending the call, not even waiting for a response.

Bellamy quickly became lost in his work, not noticing how much time passed until Murphy knocked on his door two and a half hours later, “They got him Skip. He’s down stairs now.”

Bellamy nodded, stood, and glanced at the clock… 1:23 A.M. Not bad. He walked out of his office, down the hall to an open seating area situated by the private third floor elevator. It was the only elevator in the building. There was a clear view of the first floor dance floor from the railing. Stepping into the waiting elevator, Bellamy asked Murphy who all was downstairs.

“Last I checked, everyone but Lucca, and he was on his way. Said something about double checking the guys squatting place.” He shrugged and asked curiously, “Who do you think sent the guy, Skip?”

“I don’t know, but I plan to find out.” Bellamy said darkly. The elevator stopped at the first floor, and the two men exited, weaving through the crowd to get to the bar. Behind the bar was a door that lead to the back rooms and Antonio’s security manager office.

The office was on the fancy side, and included a black bookcase built into the wall to go with the decor of the room. What was so special about the bookshelf was that it acted as a hidden door to get to the basement.

Bellamy approached the bookshelf and located the electronic keypad along the back of the shelf. It was perfectly hidden behind the books and binders. Bellamy typed in the four-digit code, and watched as the bookcase slid to the side into the wall, revealing a steel door. Bellamy pressed his thumb against the scanner, and typed in another four-digit code. The tumblers on the door unlocked, and allowed Bellamy to pull the door open. They both walked inside, and Murphy closed the door behind them... The book case automatically sliding back into place.

They were standing on a metal landing. To the right was three stairs leading up to a walkway that led to the entrance off of the ally. To their left was a computer monitor built into the wall, monitoring the security room. It was used when people had to leave the basement through the club, to make sure there was no one in the room that would reveal the secret door. Directly in front of them was the stairs leading down into the heart of the basement.

Reaching the bottom, Bellamy took note of his surroundings. His guys were milling around talking. The basement had two small rooms along the wall behind the stairs, both used as cells for prisoners with extended stays. The main area was large, with metal counters lining two of the walls, and metal pegboards hanging above the counters, stocked with various weapons and torture devices on display. One of the counters had a large utility sink off the end. The other wall had had black granite tile covering over the concrete from floor to ceiling and various attachments and hooks. This area was upgraded during the remodel too.

His guys stopped talking, noticing their boss, and waited for orders.

“Bring him out and tie him up. No vision.” Bellamy ordered calmly. Diego and Antonio, two of his bigger guys, moved to the first cell. After some shuffling of chains, they dragged the man out and tied him to the chair in the center of the room. His ankles were tied to the legs of the chair with thick rope. A chain wrapped around the man’s waist tying him to the chair back, and both of his wrists and elbows were tied tightly with rope to the arms of the chair. The man had a black cloth sack over his head and struggled a bit.

The room was silent except for Bellamy’s footsteps as he circled the struggling man, carefully examining the shooter. Bellamy took note of the tattoo along his wrist he had only had a glimpse of previously. Looking at it now, Bellamy confirmed his suspicions. It wasn’t a normal tattoo, it looked to have been carved or burned into his skin, so that when it healed, it scarred and raised the skin up. The design wound from the back of his hand up and around his forearm and bicep to disappear under the man’s shirt. Definitely tribal.

Continuing his inspection, Bellamy noticed something interesting. He was shot. Adam had hit the man in the thigh when he fired his weapon. The wound itself looked to have been a through and through. What was strange, was one of the holes was cauterized, while the other was still gapping open. It wasn’t bleeding heavily, so… Silver lining.

Bellamy stopped circling. The man in the chair stopped struggling and tensed, hearing the footsteps come to a halt directly in front of him.

Bellamy loomed over the man, then moved again to loudly drag a chair across the room to rest directly in front of the man, taking sick satisfaction when he noticed the man jumped in fear at the noise. Torturing a person wasn’t all about hurting the body physically… No, the mind had to be affected as well. Torture is equal parts physical and psychological. Taking away the body’s most important sense, eyesight, and taunting the other heightened senses, is a form of torture in its own rite.

Bellamy slipped off his suit jacket, hung it over the stair railing, and began to roll up the sleeves of his button down… With the way he was feeling, he would soon be up to his elbows in the man’s blood. Bellamy knew he had to calm down so he didn’t snap and kill the man before he got the answers he needed out of him.

He walked over to the table and began gathering his instruments of choice for this torture. Brass knuckles, a pair of pliers, cat o’ nine tails, and a Taser were all lined up on the table. Bellamy had other methods, but these were the ones he found to be most effective on someone not trained to with stand torture, which was something he was only guessing about. Bellamy pulled out a hidden pack of smokes that were tucked safely between the wall and the rack of weapons, and set them on the table.

Bellamy walked back over to the man and pulled the sack from his head. He was startled for a moment, and blinked rapidly in the harsh lighting. When his eyes focused, he glared menacingly at Bellamy, but he didn’t open his mouth. Bellamy pulled his fist back, and swung hard, knocking the man out cold.

He walked back to the table and grabbed the pack of smokes. He lit one up and straddled the chair that sat opposite of the unconscious man.

“Where’s Lucca?” Bellamy asked Murphy who was typing on his phone.

“20 minutes out, Skip.” He said, almost nervously, still watching his phone. Bellamy narrowed his eyes, but knew if it was of true concern, the other man would have spoken up, so instead he focused on his other guys.

“Well since were not starting without him, give me a rundown of what happened. Start from the beginning… Twins, you’re up first.” Bellamy said nodding at Monty and Jasper, still smoking his cigarette.

“Okay,” Monty said. “Once we got here, I copied and swiped the security camera at the park, like you asked, right as someone was accessing it, so we’re in the clear. I was able to pretty much track him as he moved through the city, using other city cameras. He stopped at an abandoned apartment building, so I relayed the information to Diego, Lucca, and Romeo, and waited on standby.” Monty finished.

“While he was doing all that, I was able to track all the people in the park down who saw what happened, and remotely target and clean their phones so they don’t have pictures or anything. I have been monitoring the web for any pictures, articles and such, posted online about what happened, but we can’t erase television news or newspapers, so if they go that route and do an interview, well, then it’s time for you to use your scary grr voice on them. So far the only thing that has gotten out is that you were in the hospital, injuries not listed, and that a blonde female was seen as the one who treated you, but no one has named names.” Jasper said earnestly.

Bellamy nodded and said seriously, “Good work guys. Keep monitoring things to keep this locked down as tight as possible… Especially Dr. Griffin’s name. I don’t want her harassed for her selflessness and kindness towards us.” Just the idea of her being targeted by the paparazzi, caused a lump to form in his throat. Still unable to speak, Bellamy looked toward Romeo and Diego, and nodded.

Diego stepped forward. “Well, we got to the abandoned apartment building, and had a hell of a time searching the place. I guess he heard us coming, or something, because by the time we got to where he was staying, he was already down the fire escape in the ally, trying to make a run for it. He booked it to the subway as fast as he could, hobbling like he was. Didn’t even grab anything, just ran. We lost him in the crowd and the departing train, and called Monty and Jas to see where the next stop was along the rail, and what was the closest ‘get out of town’ route from there. We all figured out it had to be the major bus terminal over on 8th. All three of us rushed over there, and watched all the ticket counters for him. After that, it was pretty easy to grab him, with his injury and the image we had to go off of.” He finished.

Bellamy took a deep drag off his second cigarette. “What’s up with his leg? One wound open, the other closed?” He asked motioning to the wounds that were exposed by the torn fabric of the man’s pants.

Romeo was the one to speak up this time. “I don’t know how, but he must have cauterized that one by himself, and we just spooked him before he could do the other. When we left the bus station to bring him here, Lucca went back to that abandoned apartment building to look around for clues, and here we are.”

“Murphy… Lucca’s ETA.” Bellamy said gruffly, stubbing out the rest of his second cigarette.

“Four minutes, Skip.”

“Okay. Miller grab a bucket of water, and Jasper grab a rag from beneath the counter behind you.” They moved and did as they were told.

Once they were done, silence settled over the room for a minute until Murphy’s stomach growled loudly. The guys started chuckling, while Murphy glowered.

“It’s not my fault!! We didn’t eat dinner… I feel like my stomach is trying to eat my spinal cord over here.”

Bellamy smirked. “Poor Murphy… Tell you what, you get to pick where we order food from after we’re done here. _Capisci_?”

Murphy sighed dreamily… “I want pizza and hamburgers, and French fries, and quesadillas, and sweet and sour chicken…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… Slow down tiger. Unless you’re going out to get all of that, I would suggest you pick one place.” Bellamy said with amusement.

“Fine.” Murphy grumbled. “Chinese place around the corner then.”

The low chattering amongst the boys was interrupted by the sound of the ally door opening and closing, and the sound of footstep on the metal stairs. Lucca appeared with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Hey Boss, got something for ya.” Lucca said walking over to a clear spot on the counter. All the guys watched as he pulled a clear plastic bag out with a large hand gun inside. He handed it over to Bellamy saying, “I couldn’t identify the make or anything. It has no distinct markings to identify it, just random numbers and symbols… I’ve never seen one like it to be honest, but I would venture to guess it’s a 9mm from the box of bullets I found.” He pulled the box in question out of the backpack.

Bellamy examined the gun and said, “Well, you would be right about that Lucca. This,” He held the gun up for the other guys to see, “is a Welrod 9mm suppressed pistol.” Bellamy paused and looked around at his guys to see if anyone recognized it. They all looked curious, but no one seemed to recognize it… Just as Bellamy suspected. “Well boys, what you’re looking at is an old World War II relic. The British made these for their Special Forces and resistance units. It’s was the ultimate assassin’s pistol in its day, meant for close up execution. Lucca, the reason you don’t see any markings on it, is because it’s what they called a ‘sanitized’ weapon, which means it couldn’t be traced back to a manufacturer or point out a certain country of origin. The reason none of you boys recognize it, is because there were only about 3000 of them made, even fewer in existence today. Most of them have been retired to museums and such… which leads us to why and how, he…” Bellamy pointed toward the tied up man, “got one. Did you get anything else, Lucca?”

“Yep… I figured out how he was cauterizing his wounds, or trying to anyway… A spoon.” He pulled another plastic bag out containing a bloody warped spoon. “Then there are numerous fake passports listing various countries of origin… All in Africa, so I would guess the only true thing about them is that he is actually from Africa. Maybe one of them has his real information.” He pulled a stack of about six passports out of the bag, and continued pulling stuff from the bag. “A crushed burner cell, a piece of paper with a time and place written down, but no date. Probably a meeting spot. And, uh, well…” Bellamy narrowed his eyes.

“Spit it out Lucca…” Bellamy said sharply.

“There was a list of places that you regularly attend, and photos Boss, of you, coming and going from the places. Well, except for one.” He pulled a folder out filled with papers and photos. “Last of all were these…” Lucca pulled a small wooden box out, and handed it over.

Bellamy opened the box that was no bigger than his hand, to reveal… diamonds. The box was filled to the brim with diamonds. Bellamy whistled. “Well, well, well… This just got a helluva lot more interesting. Awesome job Lucca. Antonio, wake him up.”

Antonio grabbed the bucket of water and poured half its content over the unconscious man. He woke gasping and spluttering. Once he caught his breath, he glared at Bellamy and began struggling against the chains and ropes binding him to the chair. Bellamy just watched him wear himself out… When he finally settled down, Bellamy pulled his gun from his waist, checked the clip, and loaded it.

“Do you speak English?” Bellamy asked calmly. The man made no response… Not that Bellamy was expecting to get one, but he figured he would give the man a chance to go the easy route.

“You have two choices… Choice one, you answer my questions honestly and easily, and I kill you quickly. Choice two gets a little dirty… You don’t answer my questions, I torture you till I get my answers, then I torture you some more, until you die slowly. Your pick.”

Bellamy waited for a beat. He knew the man understood him… He could read his micro-expressions. Mainly his fear. After nothing was said, Bellamy nodded his head, “Okay… Option two it is.”

Bellamy stood from his chair, and walked over to the counter. He put his gun down and picked up the pliers first, walked over. He began tearing out the man’s finger nails… one at a time, slowly. The man screamed in pain, but didn’t say a word when Bellamy asked, “Ready to talk?”

Bellamy dumped the pliers in the sink, and walked over to the counter and picked up the brass knuckles again. He landed 20 solid punches to the stomach and chest areas and five to the face. He needed the man to still be able to talk. He was sure he broke at least three ribs, and fractured five others. His nose was broken and streaming blood all down his face. When Bellamy pulled back to examine his work, the man leaned over to spit three blood covered teeth out on the floor, narrowly missing Bellamy’s shoes.

When asked the question again, the man just grunted and bared his remaining bloody teeth angrily. All of this seemed to only further anger the man. Bellamy repeated the process of disposing of the weapon and choosing a new one… This time it was the taser. Bellamy only gave the guy four tazings, worried the man would go into cardiac arrest and die before Bellamy got him to talk. The man was twitching and convulsing like mad, but still had the strength to muster up a glare that looked more like a grimace.

Bellamy had a feeling that the cat o’ nine tails wouldn’t break the man who had obviously been trained to withstand torture, so he would do something a little more drastic. Bellamy walked over to the counter, opened the folder Lucca had found, and began going through it. Five pictures later, he came across a photo of a woman and a child. The kid had his prisoner’s facial features and the woman’s smile. This was his family. Bellamy felt a pang of sadness that the man would never see them again, but then he remembered that if all had gone according to his plan, Bellamy wouldn’t have ever seen his family again, and the sadness dissipated replaced with anger. Bellamy folded the photo in half, and grabbed the fake passports. He walked over and stood in front of his prisoner.

He went through each passport listing off the country name, carefully watching the man’s facial expressions.

“Sudan… Kenya… Nigeria…Angola… Liberia…” Bellamy stopped, noticing the man’s glare falter for a second before it was right back in place. “Ah… So you’re a Liberian then.” A sudden gasp from Monty, drew the room’s attention. “Monty, you got something to share with the class?” Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows.

Monty’s eyes lost their focus and glazed over… Bellamy could practically see the man putting the puzzle pieces together. Suddenly Monty’s attention was snapped to the present, and he looked at the prisoner with a glare so intense, Bellamy worried for a minute that the look would kill the man. “It was Jaha.” Is all he said.

The prisoner face went slack with shock and disbelief. The room tensed with understanding, and anger surged through the air with a vengeance.

About eight months previously, Thelonious Jaha, a well-known Liberian mafia kingpin, approached Bellamy in secret. He was looking to expand his business to the states, and only wanted the best of the best, selling his merchandise… Diamonds. Jaha gave his passionate speech on starting new, how good can come from dark acts, and the things he could offer Bellamy if he went into business with him. Bellamy knew that he himself was a cruel heartless bastard, but even he had standards, and selling blood diamonds, for an inhuman, dastardly scoundrel like Jaha, was something he just would not do. Blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds, were mined by children being used as a main source of cheap labor, and then sold with the proceeding used to fund violent civil wars. If he could have gotten away with it, Bellamy would have killed Jaha and actually done the world a bit of good. Instead, he had to settle for beating Jaha and his cronies bloody and putting them on a boat back to Liberia with the promise that if he ever set foot in the US again, he would kill the man and his smarmy son, Wells, who was rumored to take over the business for his father in a couple of years. Bellamy had also steadfastly refused to get into business or work with organizations that had anything to do with blood diamonds or the Jaha’s, and forced Damian to make it an official law.

Bellamy’s embargo had quickly forced many criminal organizations all over the world to quit their dealings with the Jaha’s and other African criminal organizations involved with the illegal diamonds, in fear they would lose out in their dealings or favor with the Collin Family. All had been quiet since, and now he had this man come out of nowhere to assassinate him, supposedly on Jaha’s orders. To say Bellamy was pissed would be an understatement.

“So Jaha is still holding a grudge huh…” Bellamy mused. He turned and looked at the man, while speaking to the room. “I can’t tell what insults or pisses me off more… The fact that the man thought he could send someone to kill me, or the fact that he sent someone so sloppy to do the deed.” Bellamy paused. “Well this is great actually. It gives me a reason to kill the son of a bitch the next time I see him. Miller grab the water, Murphy, the rag.”

Both boys did as they were told… They knew what was going to happen. Bellamy nodded. Murphy wrapped the rag around the man’s head and held it tight behind his head, pulling his head back, as Miller poured the water slowly over his face. The man jerked violently against his restraints as he slowly started to asphyxiate. Bellamy gave another nod, and both boys stopped. The man spluttered and gasped for air, his chest heaving after not being able to breathe air for so long.

“Now tell me your name, or I continue to dry drown you till you’re on the brink of death. Then I shove you back in that cell, and the next time I see you, I’ll have your wife and child with me.” Bellamy pulled the photo out and showed the man. “They will get the same treatment as you, before I send them off on a little trip, where they will never be seen or heard from again.” Bellamy threatened.

The man’s eyes widened, he knew he had no choice but to comply. “My name Uriel Tolbert.” His accent was thick and his English was slightly broken in some areas.

“Good. So Uriel, who’s your boss? Not that I don’t already know… I just need it confirmed.” Bellamy said standing tall, and intimidating over the man.

“Thelonious Jaha.”

“What was your mission, Uriel?”

“I was told to come to the states, kill evil man, and meet new big buyer.” Uriel summarized.

“I need details.” Bellamy said in annoyance.

“I was given your name, American dollars, and the diamonds. That is all. I found you through newspaper, and I watched. Took pictures. Know where you go. I see you in park and know time to act… No lot of people. Boss man say you kill men, women, children for fun. Called you a monster.” Uriel said in his broken English.

“Tell me about the meeting Uriel. Who were you supposed to meet? What was the day this meeting supposed to happen?” Bellamy demanded.

“I no know… I supposed to get call after I kill you, but I get no call. Boss say ‘make sure to kill Bellamy Blake first, meet buyer later’.” Uriel said simply.

“Where did you get the gun Uriel?”

“Boss man give me before I go. Show me how to use it. Please. No hurt my family. I no know nothing else.” Uriel pleaded.

Bellamy nodded, and walked over to the counter. He placed his hands on the cool metal, and leaned heavily on his hands. He had the information he needed. Uriel’s part was done.

Bellamy grabbed his gun, turned and shot the man in the head. Brain matter splattered over the tile covered wall. Bellamy moved so fast, that Uriel didn’t know what hit him. The cold numbing feeling of killing a person didn’t unnerve him anymore… The gut-wrenching feeling of losing another piece of his soul no longer fazed him. It all became like second nature to him. Bellamy had a plan to send a message to Jaha, and it would be a very powerful message indeed.

“Okay. Antonio… Call a cleaning crew, and get them here. Tell them they’ll need a casket and a couple of blocks of dry ice. Monty, grab a body bag, and spread it out, open, on the ground by the chair. Lucca, Romeo, position him in the bag face up. Jasper, hand me that carving knife behind you. Miller bring me those diamonds and a pair of gloves.” Bellamy ordered.

Once the body was positioned the way he wanted it, Bellamy took the knife from Jasper cut the man’s shirt open and carved _‘_ _Il_ _Ribellarsi’_ on the man’s chest. When he was finished, he threw the knife in the sink, and grabbed the gloves. He donned them on and took the box of diamonds from Miller’s out stretched hand. He opened the box, and began the tedious task of putting diamonds in the deep cuts of his signature. The skin seemed to swallow the edges of diamonds, holding them firmly in place. There were enough to do the whole signature, with a few remaining. Bellamy took one and put it in the bullet hole of Uriel’s forehead. The last handful was dumped into the man’s bloody open mouth, and then firmly shut.

Bellamy stood, walked to the sink, disposing of the gloves and washing his hands all the way up his forearms, removing all the blood. He walked back over and surveyed his work. The diamonds shone bright red in the lighting from the blood that surrounded them. They didn’t even look like diamonds any more… More like rubies.

“Damn Skip… Gives a whole new meaning to blood diamonds huh.” Murphy said gazing intently at Bellamy’s handiwork, like a painter would study Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, then he focused back on the room and complained, “I am so freaking hungry! I feel like I could eat a whole cow... Jasper would do though, a bit of dry rub to cover the crazy taste I’m sure is present...” Murphy said playfully, staring at Jasper hungrily and licking his lips. It was one of Jasper’s biggest fears to be eaten by cannibals. Jasper squeaked and hid behind Diego.

A knock on the ally door signaled that his cleaners had arrived. Antonio walked up the stairs to let them in. The cleaners were exactly what they sounded like, except they worked with dead bodies and murder scenes instead of dishes and laundry. They have the same standing as a soldier, but they had a specialization and a higher paygrade.

Once the three men were in front of him, Bellamy issued his orders. “He gets shipped to Thelonious Jaha. I don’t care how he gets there, just that he gets there exactly like this. No evidence on the body, and I want this basement cleaned. Get to work boys.” With three ‘Yes sir’s, they were off in a flourish, scrubbing tools and walls, zipping up the body bag, and carrying it out of the basement to the ally. Bellamy stripped his bloody white button-down off, and told them to burn it. He tucked his gun into his waistband. The cool metal of the gun on his warm skin of his back sent a jolt up his spine… His slipped his suit jacket on, covering his piece, but leaving his washboard abs exposed… As well as his scars.

Bellamy and his pack left the basement and entered the security office. They all crossed the first floor, fending off desperate women, and headed up to the third floor. Bellamy stopped when they got off the elevator.

“Boys, go on ahead to The House… Order food and have it delivered to security down stairs.” Bellamy said waving them off. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Once they started to disperse, Bellamy grabbed Antonio’s shoulder and murmured, “I need to talk to you.”

They walked into Bellamy’s office. Bellamy grabbed a white T-shirt, shed his suit jacket and donned on the shirt. He sat behind his desk while Antonio sat down in one of the two chairs across from him.

“Okay,” Bellamy began, leaning back in his chair, “Before we start, tell me what you think of Derek Jones.”

“The bouncer from the other night?” Bellamy nodded at Antonio’s question. “I think he would make a great security guy for you. I got his back ground check just before I got to the restaurant earlier, and everything checks out. He was an Internment-Resettlement Specialist for eight years, which is basically a military prison guard. He enlisted a year and a half after he graduated high school. From what I can tell, all the extra money he had or earned went to his sickly mother… Either her costly cancer treatments or living expenses since she couldn’t work or hold a job due to her illness. Any leave or time off was spent taking care of her. I think it will be really easy to train him, especially with his background.”

Bellamy nodded. “Good I want him assessed, trained, and put into position as my personal security as fast as possible. Maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday. Until then, I’ll be fine on my own. Adam will be out of commission for a while. When he’s ready to come back, I’ll keep both on as my personal security. Next,” Bellamy watched as Antonio took out his phone and began taking notes, “I want one of our younger guys watching that meeting spot 24/7. Our interested buyer might show up… You never know.” Antonio nodded typing. “Now, pick a guy off the top of your head, who is looking to move up the ranks, reliable and honorable.”

Antonio paused for a second and said, “Sterling… Sterling Jeffries. He’s 21 now, and looking to become a made-man… You pulled him out of Central Bronx when he was 17, and living on the streets. He had gotten involved with the Albanian Boys Inc., and was close to being arrested. They were raising all kinds of hell, and we had to step in and lay down the law. He had nowhere to go, so you set him up and got him working with Romeo on cars. He’s worked for the family since he was 18… He’s loyal and follows orders to a T. He’s what you’re looking for.”

Bellamy nodded his head, remembering the guy… “Okay then, I want him on surveillance for Doctor Griffin starting Sunday… That’s his mission. If he does the job right, and everything else pans out, I’ll promote him. He is not to engage with her whatsoever, unless she is in danger. He is to report directly to me, and he is in this position until I say otherwise. I want this on the down low, and that goes for both of you… No one but the three of us will know about this.”

Bellamy had convinced himself that it was just a way to help her out and return the favor for her generosity. It was in no way because she was intriguing, or beautiful, or special, or because of the way electricity pulsed through his body when she was close or touched him. Nope. It was merely paying a debt. Nothing more. Nothing less. Bellamy didn’t like owing anyone, anything… That was all.

Antonio nodded. “Got it Boss. Anything else?”

“Yeah… You got Monroe’s number?”

Antonio nodded and quickly texted him the number. Bellamy nodded and sent him off to The House.

Bellamy sat for a minute staring at the number. _I really shouldn’t do this,_ he thought to himself and hit dial. The phone seemed to ring forever before a small voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey Katie, its Bellamy… Listen, I need a favor.” Bellamy said fidgeting with the paper weight on his desk a tad nervously.

“Sure Bellamy… What can I help you with?” She asked earnestly.

“Do you know a Doctor Griffin?” Bellamy asked almost hesitantly.

“Clarke? I sure do! She is so amazing, and really sweet. I love being her nurse and working with her on cases.” Katie gushed.

“The favor is that I need her schedule. Can you get it for me?”

There was a long pause, where Bellamy’s nervousness skyrocketed. This was so unusual for him… Being nervous. The feeling was so foreign…

“Why do you want it? She is a really wonderful person, and my friend. Don’t get her involved with your bullshit Bellamy Blake. I won’t let her get hurt by you.” Katie said defensively.

“It’s not like that Katie. She helped me out today, so I’m just making sure she doesn’t get hurt. That’s it.”

“Okay Bellamy…” She sighed heavily. “I’ll help you out…” Bellamy grinned broadly, “On one condition.” A frown quickly replaced his grin.

“What’s your condition?” Bellamy said sitting forward in his office chair.

“I will give you her full schedule, in a sealed envelope, but… I want you to send Nathan to pick it up from me. Deal?” Bellamy grinned again. Little Katie Monroe had a crush on Miller. Well, who was he to stand in the way of two people who obviously really liked each other?

“When do you get off of work?” Bellamy questioned.

“Uh… 5 A.M.”

“Tell you what… I’ll do you one better. I’ll send Miller to pick it up when you get off shift. I’m sure he’ll want to take you home.” Bellamy offered. It was 3:07 A.M. now, so he still had about an hour and a half to talk to his guys before they dispersed.

“You’re on Blake. Tell my brother about this, and I castrate you.” She threatened lightly with a grin in her voice. Bellamy just laughed. He knew she was joking. Bellamy had known Katie Monroe since she was a little girl, and Murphy had dragged her along with him wherever he went because their parents were too busy to take care of the child.

“What am I not supposed to tell him?” Bellamy asked innocently. “That silence goes both ways though… I don’t want anyone knowing about this okay?”

“Uh-huh. I’ll talk to you later okay Bellamy? Breaks over.” They said their good-byes, and hung up.

Bellamy felt a lightness in his chest, knowing he would soon be able to keep an eye on the captivating doctor… Just to make sure she was safe though. That was it. Besides, he would just pass the envelope over to Sterling. It was him who needed the information, not Bellamy.

With that last thought, Bellamy walked out of his office, and down the hall to The House. Walking through the door, Bellamy took in the room before him. His guys were sprawled out all over the place, chowing down on Chinese food… Monty and Jasper were on the floor, and the others were on the massive u-shaped couch. They were watching some action movie on the flat screen. Monty saw him first.

“Hey Cap. Foods right there.” He said nodding to the bag on the coffee table.

Bellamy walked over and plopped on the couch between Miller and Diego. He leaned forward and opened his food containers. He didn’t realize just how hungry he was until he smelled the food. He quickly devoured his food, trying to understand the plot of the movie they were watching. He eventually gave up… He didn’t watch a whole lot of T.V. Instead, he watched his guys finish eating and settle in for the rest of the movie and thought of what needed to be done. Bellamy was always thinking of things… He could never switch his brain off and just relax in a slow moment like this.

Bellamy watched with amusement as Monty slowly built a small pillow fort out of three large couch pillows. It covered his head and chest pretty well.

As the credits on the movie began to roll, Bellamy hit the mute button on the remote in front of him on the coffee table and clapped his hands twice to turn on the lights. There were various groans and moans in reaction to the sudden light.

Jasper dove for a blanket, trying to avoid the lights. Monty on the other hand was looking smug and perfectly happy in the shadows of his pillow fort. Jasper peeked his head out and began to edge his way across the floor towards Monty.

Monty realized what Jasper was trying to do, glared, and said, “Hiss, hiss, motherducker…” Before kicked Jasper’s shoulder, rolling him away. “I’m still mad at you for not telling me about my toothbrush.” Everyone started laughing, especially when Jasper brought out his wounded pout and Monty just stuck his tongue out at him.

Bellamy took a deep breath. “Well boys… I got orders…” He paused looking grave.

“From who boss? Marcus?” Romeo asked. Bellamy shook his head no.

“Damian?” Lucca asked. Bellamy shook his head again.

“I’m so lost.” Murphy said looking confused. “Who the hell is higher than your dad? If you say Finn, I’m committing you… To hell with anger management.”

“No boys… This time the higher up is none other than Amelia Collins, and the orders are to report for church Sunday morning.” Bellamy grinned at the whining.

“Bellamy!!! Is it really that time of the month?” Jasper groaned. The boys busted out laughing at Jasper’s wording.

“Jeez Jasper. Its church… Not your damn menstrual cycle.” Miller grinned.

“I still don’t wanna go…” Jasper huffed.

“Alright.” Bellamy said easily. “Just don’t come running to me when she hunts your ass down and has you work at the homeless shelter every weekend for a year.”

No one had a response to that, and all promptly quit the complaining.

“Oh… I got a present for you Monty, Jasper, Romeo and Diego.” Lucca said excitedly. He walked over to the entertainment system, inserted a disc, grabbed the remote and hit a few buttons. Suddenly the video from early Thursday morning, at Damian’s house, began playing.

The guys watched and commented on various things that were said or done, while Bellamy sat silently watching the video of himself losing control. He looked like a mad man, or a man possessed. Bellamy wondered what would have happened if his grandmother hadn’t been there to pull him out of his rage… In all likelihood, he would probably have shot someone. Once the video was over, Bellamy was ready to leave, but some of the guys were staying.

“Miller, would you mind dropping me at my place?” Bellamy asked.

“Sure man… Let’s go.” He replied. Both men said their good-byes and left, but not before Bellamy gave a stern warning that there would be consequences if one of them weren’t in church come Sunday.

Shortly before the two men got to Bellamy’s apartment, Bellamy spoke up. “I’ve got a task for you… One I’m sure you’ll like very much. I need you to go back to Mount Sinai Hospital and meet Katie around 5 A.M. She’s got an envelope for me of papers I need. Drop them by on your way, when you take her home.” Bellamy finished as they pulled up to his apartment building.

Miller started stuttering and stammering before Bellamy cut him off. “I know nothing of any of this. All I have to say is… I hope you know what you’re doing and you’re welcome.” Miller just nodded solemnly. Bellamy got out and made his way to his penthouse.

He still felt wide awake, and knew trying to sleep would be pointless. He walked into his darkened apartment and wandered into his great room. Half the room was bathed in moon light from the large windows, leaving the other half cast in dark shadows. He stopped at the bar and grabbed a drink before sauntering to the window. He slipped the hand not holding his glass into his pocket, and wondered what Clarke was doing… Sleeping still hopefully.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy caught movement in the shadows. Without turning, Bellamy spoke calmly, “I figured you’d be turning up sooner or later, especially with everything that’s been going on.”

The figure moved gracefully from the shadows, and took a step into the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Lordy!!! Whose bothering Bellamy now? What did you think of who the shooter actually was and who was behind the whole assassination plot? Was it a big shock, or a little one? What about Miller and Monroe? What are your predictions and/or theories for next chapter? Leave me a comment people, and let me know!!  
> -Redhead17x


	9. Lies and Misunderstandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darling readers! What day is it? FRIDAY!!! Meaning chapter update! All of you were so happy with the last chapter, and I got so many thank yous, that there was no way I couldn't not update today. I love each and everyone of you for reading and giving me so much love and support in comments, kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks... You all rock! 
> 
> I had some pretty great guesses in my reviews about who the figure was, but no one got it, so I hope it'll be a nice little surprise for you :) Happy reading...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 9- Lies and Misunderstandings**

_(Previously on Lips of an Angel)_

_Out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy caught movement in the shadows. Without turning, Bellamy spoke calmly, “I figured you’d be turning up sooner or later, especially with everything that’s been going on.”_

_The figure moved gracefully from the shadows, and took a step into the light._

“How could I not? I’m perplexed as to why you haven’t called me, your dear uncle, and I had to hear everything from Damian.” Marcus Kane scolded his nephew. “I mean, no sleep for four days, getting shot in the arm, beating you brother to a bloody pulp… Don’t even get me started on you taking a swing at your father, and I show up to see you drinking this early in the morning? What the hell Nephew?”

Bellamy grimaced at Marcus calling Finn his brother and sighed heavily. “Okay firstly, he’s my _half_ -brother… I’m so damn tired of everyone calling him my _brother_.” Bellamy spat. “Secondly, I haven’t called you because I’ve been busy. I have a legitimate business and several illegal businesses to run here, hence the no sleep for four days, which is not a huge deal... I’ve survived on less to be honest. Thirdly, Finn deserves more than the beating he got, so he should count himself lucky I was so sleep deprived that I didn’t think to beat his ass before I got to dad’s house… Lesson learned, I’ll just be smarter next time, and well, as for Dad, he shouldn’t have tried to stop me… Simple as that. Lastly, I respect you Uncle, truly, but I don’t have to explain myself to anyone. It is out of that deep respect though, and seeing as how you’re already here, that I might as well give you the full story, and not the melodramatic version I’m sure has been regaled to you by my father, and probably my grandmother as well.”

“What are you talking…? I haven’t…” Marcus started to deny, but Bellamy quickly cut the older man off.

“So you’re going to tell me my father didn’t call you Thursday morning, the second I walked out of that house, and tell you how out of control I was? Then you didn’t call Nonni Thursday night after you were sure I’d left her house, and pumped her of any information she would give you about what happened and my state of mind when we visited?” Bellamy question monotonously, staring blankly out the window. He had yet to lay eyes on his uncle. “I’m sure you didn’t get a lot, but kudos for trying.”

Marcus didn’t say a word. Bellamy shook his head knowingly and took a sip of his drink. That was exactly what had happened... “Your silence is deafening Uncle. I know you all too well.”

“Why were you in the hospital today Nephew? What happened?” Marcus questioned, deflecting the previous comments and questions. Bellamy rolled his eyes… His head still turned so his uncle didn’t catch the disrespectful movement.

“Technically, it was yesterday. There was an incident in the park, and there was no way I could avoid not going to the hospital.” Bellamy said vaguely, which further agitated Marcus.

“Damn it Bellamy! Tell me what the hell happened now, and cut the bullshit.” Marcus said sternly.

Bellamy pulled his hand from his pocket and ran it over his face wearily, before dropping it back to his side. Finally turning to gaze at his uncle, he said, “Fine… Sit.” Before motioning to the large sofa. “This is going to take a while.”

For the next thirty minutes, Bellamy told his uncle as much as he could about what really happened Thursday morning, the undramatic version of course, before he got a text from Miller saying he was downstairs with the envelope. After running downstairs quickly to grab it, he returned to finish debriefing his uncle on the day’s events. He told him about the incident in the park as well as what happened at the club, and excluded anything Clarke-related. He didn’t feel right revealing anything about her, including that he even met her… He wanted to keep her all to himself and as guarded as possible, and that included not talking about her with other people, even his trusted uncle.

After the events were recounted, Marcus stood and began pacing. He ran one of his hands over his face, a sure sign he was worried or stressed.

“You’re sure it’s Jaha behind all of it?” Marcus asked with raised eyebrows, “You know a man will say anything if tortured long enough.”

Bellamy sat back and nodded his head. “I’m sure.”

“Okay then. I’m telling Damian to up your guard. From now on you will have a minimum of three guys with you at all times. Pull three guys from patrol, and bring in more to take over the vacant positions. This was too close a call, Nephew.”

Bellamy, who was reclining on the couch, the picture of calm, and said, “No way. I’ve got a new guy coming in Monday, and he’ll be my guard in public. I don’t need three of dad’s goons babysitting me… Send them to watch Finn. He needs it more. I can take care of myself. Besides, me and my guys are fine… We can handle this crap. Hell, it’s what I trained them for. They found this guy within four and half hours after the shooting… Name me someone else who could do what they did.” Bellamy demanded, knowing there was no one else as good as his guys.

Marcus scoffed, knowing his nephew had him. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now, but I’m still telling your father my recommendation.”

Bellamy shook his head, “Why? You know he’ll saddle me with those so called ‘trained’ idiots anyway. While I can’t disobey Dad’s orders, I’ll warn you now, my boys will be trigger happy when they find out… Especially Antonio. You know they’ll take this as an insult, and react accordingly, so when there are three bodies that wash up along the banks of Eastchester Bay in the Bronx, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I have one bodyguard in public, and then my guys watching my back when we are working the rest of the time. That’s how it has worked for years, and I have no plans for it to change.”

Marcus raised his eyebrows, “That is not enough!” He said heatedly.

Bellamy leaned forward, “Yes, it is. Look, if I were next in line to be boss, I might consider letting it happen, but consequently, I’m not. So the situation is null and void. Leave it Uncle… I don’t wish to fight. I’ll inform Dad about what happened the next time I see him. I have my people watching my back, and I’m already handling the situation, my way. It’s done and dealt with as far as I’m concerned.”

Bellamy knew if his father’s men became his bodyguards, he would have every single one of his moves watched and reported right back to his dad. There was just no way that was happening. He wasn’t a child, or some fresh-faced rookie just off the streets that needed to be watched. He was one of the most feared men in the country. No one in their right mind would come after him, they wouldn’t dare. This whole debacle only proved Jaha was clearly already a deranged man, and clearly _not_ in his right mind.

Marcus sighed heavily. “Fine. Just… Be careful please.” Marcus said wearily. “You know I don’t have biological children of my own, and I can’t take losing my surrogate son.”

Bellamy swallowed thickly, the unexpected emotional words from someone he considered to be a father, hitting him hard. “I promise Uncle.”

They spent the remaining wee hours of the morning discussing business deals coming up. After Bellamy had quick shower and changed his clothes into something more casual, Marcus and Bellamy both decided to go out for breakfast at a small diner up the street. Once they were both seated with food in front of them, Marcus revealed some interesting news.

“Your father is looking into marrying Finn off.” Marcus stated nonchalantly, cutting into his stack of pancakes.

“Damn,” Bellamy cursed, “Poor girl. Seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me. He’s going to have a hell of a time with that venture. No girl in her right mind would willingly marry his whiny ass. Damian’s going to have to bring a girl over from the motherland who doesn’t speak a lick of English to get him married off.”

Finn never wanted to learn Italian, or any other language for that matter, and of course whatever Finn wanted, Finn got. Bellamy didn’t think the man had ever worked a day in his life… He was just constantly handed things.

“Well your father is hoping to marry him off to another Boss’s daughter, unite two families and then Finn will settle down and take over both, while your dad retires.” Marcus stated.

“Who’s he looking at for a wife?” Bellamy asked curiously.

“Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Detroit, Boston, Chicago, and Seattle.” Marcus listed off. Bellamy’s stomach dropped hearing Seattle being listed amongst the contenders. The look on Bellamy’s face of shock was mistaken for confusion by Marcus, and prompted him to explain, “Those are the cities their families are headquartered, and where the girls are from.”

“What are your thoughts on all this Uncle?” Bellamy asked feigning disinterest of the subject, while secretly hoping Jake’s Charlotte would be spared the distress that marrying his half-brother would cause a person, considering the brutal, vicious life she’d had thus far. He knew Jake’s Charlotte was a strong girl, just from the things Jake had told Bellamy about over the years.

“I don’t actually know any of the girls’ names, just cities and the bosses of each city. Vegas and Jacksonville are a bit farfetched in my opinion. Just too… Wild, savage, and unpredictable. They would both want a heavy backing in any wars they started with other families, and Finn just cannot handle any of that. Detroit is way too poor... They would bring in no income, would be a huge liability, and would require substantial funding. Boston and Chicago would be good picks if possible… Both are relatively close, and we have good standing with both.” Marcus shrugged.

“And Seattle?” Bellamy prompted when his uncle didn’t continue.

“Well that’s the thing… Seattle is a bit far away, but it’s ideal in the fact that it gives us a foot hold on the West Coast. It is an acceptable choice, except for the fact that no one seems to know what this girl looks like. Griffin has kept her a well-hidden secret. I’ve heard rumors that say she’s beautiful, and others that say she’s hideous. There are more in favor of the latter to be honest, but none of them could be reliable due to the fact that no one has ever laid eyes on the girl, and lived to tell about it. While the girl’s looks are questionable, she’s rumored to be a complete badass… I’ve heard stuff like she shoots as good as any man, if not better, wicked quick reflexes, smart as a whip, and my personal favorite, fighting skills so good, she could land a UFC heavyweight champion on his back in three seconds flat, and have him crying for mommy in another five. I’d want to meet her.” Marcus finished.

Bellamy only nodded. He had never seen a photo of Jake’s Charlotte, or had Jake describe what she looked like, so he had no idea about any of her physical features. The other stuff sounded dead on though. Jake loved to tell Bellamy all about his daughter, and how proud he was of her even though he didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with her. The whole thing certainly gave Bellamy a lot to think over, so he decided to change the subject onto a happier note.

“How’s Finn’s drug withdrawal coming by the way? Hurting like a bitch I hope.” Bellamy said grinning at the thought.

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he’s been sweating buckets and puking his guts out for days now from what I hear.”

Bellamy scoffed, “That’s what he gets for doing drugs. That shit really messes people up… I have no idea how Damian didn’t notice. I mean, he has to see him at least every other day or so, with Vanessa dragging him home for this and that.”

Marcus just shrugged, “I don’t know, but we’ve got another major problem that needs to be dealt with, and quickly… Your dad’s gotten reports of some new drug flooding the high schools in the Bronx. Already killed a few kids. As of right now, we can’t tell who the supplier is. The dealers are a tight knit group… Almost impossible to identify really. The whole thing is right up your alley to handle, so we’re turning it over to you.”

Bellamy shook his head ruefully, “What you mean is that the Family is being accused of being the ones pushing the shit, and Dad wants the real culprits found, wrapped up like a pretty little present, and handed over to the police to clear our name.”

Again, Marcus just shrugged. Bellamy scoffed, “Do I really look like I have the time to be dealing with this shit? I have a crap load of other stuff to be doing damn it! Where the hell is the rest of Dad’s capos’, huh?” The look on Marcus’s face made Bellamy pinch the bridge of his nose. “Never mind, don’t answer that. I can take an accurate guess that they are all off somewhere sitting on their asses smoking a Cuban cigar.” Bellamy ran a hand through his hair, and tugged tersely. This was so typical for him to be dealing with this shit. He got handed all the dirty work, and then his father’s people would try to step in and micromanage him and the situation from the comfort of their swanky homes, while he’s out at all hours of the night, not sleeping for days. After a moment of thought, Bellamy said, “Fine, I’ll handle it… My way. I’ll get the job done, but the first sign of interference from anyone, and I mean ANYONE, I’m done. I don’t care if it’s a suggestion, order, command, or just simply asking what the progress is, I will start unloading my clip in the first person who opens their mouth.”

Marcus just grinned… It baffled him sometimes how much Bellamy sacrificed for the Family, and it frustrated him that Damian could continue with the ridiculous idea of Finn being Boss when Bellamy was truly the living-breathing embodiment of what an exceptional Don was supposed to be like. But then again, he knew the reason Damian insisted on Finn being Boss… Guilt.

After agreeing to pass along the message, conversation was kept light for the rest of the meal, and just before they left, Bellamy asked, “You’re going to church tomorrow right?”

Damian, Vanessa, and Marcus all attended church regularly. Vanessa only went for the shopping that she did afterwards, while Damian and Marcus were devout Christians. They both believed in the faith, same as his grandmother. Bellamy believed in the existence of a God, he just didn’t think God cared… Not for or about him anyway. Going to church was really just a means to make his grandmother happy for Bellamy.

Marcus shook his head. “Your dad needs me at the house tomorrow morning for a conference call, and Vanessa refuses to leave Finn. He, Vanessa and Finn won’t be in church either… So you’re in the clear. Just…” Marcus paused. “Keep those hooligans of yours out of trouble, okay? And try to keep your grandmother happy.”

Bellamy agreed, and after their goodbyes, they parted ways. Bellamy walked back to his apartment, enjoying the warm weather and the bustle of the city as people started venturing out on such a nice day. Once in the safety of his apartment, Bellamy went to his office on the second floor and began to work.

Working on weekends and late into the night during the week weren’t uncommon for him. Work took his mind off the ghosts that haunted his nightmares and the demons that seemed to follow and watch him from the shadows in the light of day. He figured with the added work on his plate of the drug problem in the Bronx, getting as much work done now would give him time later in the week to actually get a couple hours of sleep.

He surfaced around one in the afternoon, exhausted. He stumbled to his bedroom and flopped on the bed. He fell asleep quickly dreaming of a pair of beautiful blue eyes and a golden blonde halo.

**_XxxX_ **

Slowly, Bellamy woke feeling as though something was off. Sitting up, he looked around, noticing the fading sunlight. Suddenly the realization struck him as he looked at his phone screen and noticed the time… 8:12 P.M.

He had slept longer than five hours… With no nightmare. Bellamy felt stunned. He always had nightmares… Even when he was sedated, he had them. Always waking with a racing heart or gasping like every breath would be his last… More often than not, both.

Bellamy sat back against the headboard in utter confusion. After years of troubled sleep with not one successful cure or remedy, what in the hell caused him to have actual peaceful sleep? While he didn’t remember having a dream, he did remember the feelings of contentment and even happiness, something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Finally giving up and just accepting it as a fluke that unfortunately, probably wouldn’t happen again, Bellamy walked back to his great room. He grabbed the two glasses he and Marcus had used earlier in the morning to wash them in the kitchen, when something caught his eye. A thin white envelope was wedged between the arm and the cushion of the chair. Bellamy picked it up and noticed his name written in printed handwriting along with a Mount Sinai letterhead. This was Clarke’s schedule.

The glasses forgotten about on the coffee table, Bellamy sat heavily on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees; Bellamy gazed at the envelope cradled in his hands. He knew he should just hand the envelope over to Sterling, but… He didn’t want to. Every thought and moment he’d had with his princess was a gift, albeit one he didn’t deserve… But being the selfish bastard that he was, he wanted anyway. He wanted to know where she was, what she was doing, who she associated with, and what she was thinking… He wanted to know everything about her. He was too selfish a man to ignore his own wants in regard to Clarke Griffin.

Bellamy ripped the envelope open and scanned the information on the page hungrily. She had tomorrow off, but she was back to work on Monday with a 12-hour shift. She had Tuesday off, was on call Wednesday, had a night shift Thursday evening that ended Friday late morning, and the weekend free. Bellamy reread the information and came across a piece he’d missed… She was getting off tonight at nine.

Before he could think about what he was doing, Bellamy was already striding to his bedroom, and then into the closet. He stripped, throwing on a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. He was out the door with his phone in his pocket, and his small sub compact sig hidden from view, strapped to his ankle. He knew she’d be walking alone through the park to get home, and that was completely unacceptable… That was the stuff nightmares were made of. Bellamy didn’t know why he cared so much about her safety… He chalked it all up to just repaying a debt.

Once in the elevator, Bellamy pulled the hood over his head, hiding his face from view, and hit the button for the second floor. The elevator doors opened moments later, and Bellamy moved briskly and stealthily through the hallways to the emergency stairwell, avoiding cameras. He quickly descended the stairs to the ground floor and slipped out the backdoor into the dark alleyway.

He set his pace to jog and made his way toward the hospital quickly. He stopped across the street of the hospital and surveyed his surroundings. He had about six minutes until nine, so he had time to find a good vantage point. The hospital entrance that he’d staked out was the one closest to Central Park. The hospital was right on the edge of the park, so there were no alleys to hide him, but there were large trees planted across the street that concealed him well enough.

Bellamy waited patiently, hidden in the shadows of a large oak tree. He watched the hospital entrance, looking for any sign of _her_ , while still being alert and watchful of his surroundings. His side of the street was practically vacant, but he noticed a couple of people coming and going on the other side of the street, with one man in particular standing out.

He was a tall man, with broad shoulders. He had brown skin, almost like a rich tan, and a shaven head. He was about Diego’s size, and Diego was a huge dude. The man had a muscular build and a couple of tattoos on his neck, and arms. He looked familiar to Bellamy, that’s what caught his attention, but he couldn’t place how he knew the man.

Bellamy’s attention was drawn from the man, who was leaning calmly against the side of the building, to the hospital doors, which had opened to reveal his beautiful sleep-deprived princess. Her braid was even messier, and her scrubs more wrinkled than the last time he saw her. Bellamy’s breath caught in his throat. She was so stunningly gorgeous, even with the bone-weary exhaustion that seemed to cling to her. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be the person she went home to at night, and woke up with in the morning. Before he could contemplate the bizarre direction in which his thoughts had turned, Bellamy watched as her sluggish movements caused her to stumble briefly, before she righted herself with a small measure of grace. Before he knew what he was doing, Bellamy moved to step out of the shadows to get to her before she truly fell over, but stopped short.

He watched with trepidation as the leaning man he noticed before, pushed off the wall, stood straighter and walked up behind Clarke, who was distractedly texting on her phone. He leaned over her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Clarke’s face went from a firm mask of concentration to shock and fear to complete and utter happiness in the span of seconds. Her lethargy seemed to dissipate.

Bellamy watched in horror as she grinned widely and squealed, before turning to throw herself in the man’s arms, hugging him tightly around the neck. The man laughed heartily and wrapped a large arm around her waist hauling her off her feet and spinning around, while his other hand held the back of her head.

Bellamy felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He quickly searched his memory for any mention of a significant other, or a wedding band… Some sort of clue that could have indicated she had a lover. Coming up with nothing, Bellamy’s only thought watching the scene unfolding before him was… S _he has a fucking boyfriend_!

Jealousy washed over him like a tidal wave, causing him to stumble from the force of it. His eyes narrowed, still not believing what he was seeing. He could have sworn she had flirted with him a bit, but she didn’t really seem like the type to cheat or flirt with someone while being in a committed relationship.

 _This is what you get for trying, or even thinking you had a chance… All women are devious, deceitful creatures, and you’re a fool to believe she was any different._ His subconscious whispered in the back of his mind. Bellamy tried to shake the thought off. _She wasn’t like that though._ He thought back weakly, but watching the couple holding each other like they would never see each other again, he couldn’t convince himself that his subconscious was wrong.

He was still gazing at the couple’s reunion, and found that he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Bellamy watched the man set Clarke down gingerly and smile at her. He began talking to her and she was nodding along happily, laughing gleefully at whatever he was saying. Jealousy was rapidly being replaced with anger. Anger at her for having and not mentioning her boyfriend, and at himself for wanting or even thinking he had any semblance of a chance with her. He was angriest at his reaction and attachment to this girl… It made no sense!!

Bellamy watched in a haze, as the man wrapped one of his large arms around her small frame and they began walking toward the park. Shortly before they turned the corner out of view, Bellamy noticed the man lean down and tenderly kiss the top of her head, as she snuggled further into the man’s hold.

Long after they were gone, Bellamy still stood frozen in place. He somehow made the jog back to his apartment, but if you asked Bellamy, it was nothing but a blur. Once back in his apartment building, Bellamy went to the gym on the first floor, and began working out. He found the punching bag especially helpful in burning off his lingering anger and excessive energy.

After a couple hours, Bellamy called it quits, and headed to his penthouse. He seemed to work on autopilot. He didn’t remember taking his shower and shaving, changing into sleep clothes, or getting into bed- his mind off somewhere on the Upper West side, with a certain blonde doctor.

He didn’t feel like eating anything… He just wanted to sleep like he had earlier in the day, and forget everything, but alas, the images running through his head, and the dark thoughts that took him to even darker places, prevented him from sleeping.

He lay there for hours until he eventually slipped into a fitful slumber during the wee hours of the morning.

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy jolted awake, his heart beating erratically in his chest. The gunshot from his nightmare was still ringing in his ears, and his wrist still tingled from where his dead mothers pale bloody hand had gripped him tight, shortly before rebuking and condemning him like she always did.

The thing that shook him to his core though, was the lifeless blue eyes and blood soaked blonde hair of a certain doctor, and her pleading voice, begging for him to save her and not let her die, just before being killed.

Bellamy rubbed his eyes wearily, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He realized it was a good thing Clarke was taken by another man. She was happy, and more importantly, safe with the other guy. She didn’t have to worry about being in the spotlight, or getting hurt merely for being associated with him. It was a good thing the way things had played out… A blessing in disguise is what his grandmother would call it.

He looked at the time. 8:29. Bellamy paused, his heart stuttering in his chest. He was late. He was late, and his grandmother was going to kill him.

“Damn it!!!” Bellamy cursed loudly before rushing to get ready. Mass started at nine, and traffic was a bitch on Sunday mornings.

Rushing out the door and into the elevator, Bellamy quickly hit the garage button. Once the doors closed, he took notice of his appearance and grimaced. He quickly straitened his tie and jacket, adjusting his gun. He ran his hand through his hair a couple of times, to make sure it looked presentable. Once the elevator doors slid open, Bellamy took off toward his Charger. He slid in the driver’s seat, turned the car on, and quickly exited the garage, merging into traffic with practiced ease.

He began smoothly weaving in and out of traffic, shifting gears, and speeding up to catch yellow lights just before they turned red. Thankfully the Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua was only 20 minutes or so from his apartment building, so he hoped he wouldn’t be too terribly late… Maybe only 5 or 10 minutes.

After hastily parking, Bellamy made his way to the church doors, and slipped into the large cathedral quietly. He searched for his motley crew of boys and his grandmother, spotting them towards the rear of the church.

His guys took up a whole pew, leaving a space open at the end… For him presumably. His grandmother looked absolutely murderous sitting tense in the pew behind the boys. As he quietly and stealthily made his way toward where they were seated, Bellamy childishly hoped she wouldn’t have noticed he wasn’t there, or see him slip in, and would just believe he’d been there the whole time.

Once he was seated in his spot next to Miller, Bellamy dared not turn around, afraid his deeply devout grandmother would rain hell fire and brimstone down on him, or something to that effect, for his tardiness. That didn’t stop him from feeling the heat of her glare on the back of his head though, which dashed his childish hope to ashes.

He was trying to concentrate on what the Father was saying, when suddenly the sound of a book hitting something hard and a whimper drew his attention to where Jasper was rubbing the back of his head, glaring at his feet. Bellamy noticed that his tie was undone, and Nonni’s closed Bible was clutched in her hand, still slowly lowering it from where it had hit Jasper’s head, to rest on the pew beside her. Nonni reached around, and fixed Jasper’s tie before tightening it tightly. Jasper reached up to fiddle with it, but Amelia slapped the back of his hand. He turned his pleading gaze on her, but with a glare and a point of her fingers, Jasper turned toward the front and started sulking, not daring to touch the tie again.

Fifteen minutes passed, when suddenly a Bible was plopped down on his thigh. There was a folded piece of paper in the front cover, ripped from a music sheet book it looked like, and a pen marking a Bible verse. Bellamy unfolded the paper and noticed writing on the back.

_You’re so dead. –Lucca the werewolf_

_Nonni is going to skewer you. –Romeo the heartbreaker_

_I bet she fillets you alive. –Monty Carlo the party destination_

_Does anyone know what the heck this guy is saying? I’m so lost. Oh… And does anyone else hear that squalling child toward the front? I can relate to it. Dressing me up in this monkey suit with this noose around my neck… I swear, church is hell. –Jasper the Jazziest_

_Skip… Read the Bible passage, and imagine you’re the one in the chair with Samuel L. Jackson pointing a gun at you, and then shooting you afterwards. That’s what Nonni is going to do when she gets ahold of you. I would try to help you out, but she scares the JESUS out of me (Ha, I’m so punny!!!), so it was nice knowing you. Sinceriously, -Murph-alicious_

_Jasper and Monty switched the sheet music out for Highway to Hell before church, and started circling the song 666 in the hymnals… They only got four before I caught them and put them in their seats. –Antonio_

_Lucca and Romeo brought five different cereals in plastic bags, and all four of them are currently passing the bags back and forth. Before church, I caught both of them in the Father’s office. Romeo was making calls to 900 numbers, and Lucca was tampering with his office lighting. I made them fix it, and dragged them to their seats. –Diego_

_Murphy paid a kid five bucks to ask the Father whether he preferred to be stoned or crucified after prayer. Told the kid his name was Hugh G. Rection. It hasn’t happened yet, so be on the lookout (Kid was gone before I could tell him not to). All four showed up without ties, said they forgot them at home, but Nonni pulled four out of her purse, and somehow wrangled one on each of them before they scampered off to their pre-church shenanigans. It was entertaining… I have a video for you. Also, I would watch out if I were you… She’s probably got another tie in her purse with your name on it, except I’m sure she’ll strangle you with it. P.S. - They got bored, had nothing better to do just sitting her before church started, and that’s where all the dumb names are coming from. –Miller_

Opening the Bible to its pen marker, Bellamy saw the passage marked was Ezekiel 25:17… The same verse Sam Jackson recited right before he shot the guy in Pulp Fiction. It was Murphy’s second favorite movie… Right after Goodfellas.

Bellamy hung his head, sighed heavily, and rubbed his eyes. This day was already shaping up to be a crappy one. Bellamy finally looked up and focused his attention to the front of the church where Father Peter was droning on about forgiveness and mercy being healthy and cleansing for the soul, and leaving vengeance to the Lord God Almighty. Bellamy mentally scoffed. He lived his life by the exact opposite of those principles. Forgiveness and mercy made you look weak and got you killed, and as for vengeance… Well, vengeance was his to take for the wrongful acts committed against him. Bellamy began to count down the minutes before he could leave.

Scanning the congregation, Bellamy noticed several friends of his grandmother, whom he had been introduced to numerous times, and a couple business associates. He scanned over several more people before stopping and doing a double take. No. Freaking. Way.

There across the aisle, seven pews in front of him, was none other than Doctor Clarke Griffin. He could make out her side profile, while she was focusing on the Father as he preached. Her gorgeous blonde hair hung in soft curls around her shoulders. The man who was with her last night sat to her side with an arm slung across the back of the pew around her shoulders. For the rest of the service, Bellamy watched her discreetly. Occasionally she would lean over and point something out or whisper in the man’s ear, and vice versa. Bellamy tensed every time and clenched his fist. He had to stop himself from outright glaring or doing something stupid like getting up and snatching her out of the other man’s grasp.

The thoughts he’d had this morning about things working out the way they had for the better, were slowly slipping through his fingers. Nowhere in that thought process, was the idea that he would see her again, and even worse, have to watch her interact with her boyfriend. New York was a big city… The odds of ever actually seeing one another again, without being at the hospital she worked at, or actively seeking her out like he had the night before, were slim. _Only this would happen to me_ , he thought ruefully.

Finally came time for the last prayer before they were dismissed. Bellamy waited patiently to actually see if this kid would say what he was paid to say. Bellamy hoped not, because he was already in a world of trouble as is, he didn’t need to get a lecture on this too, even though he had nothing to do with it.

His hopes were dashed when a small child stood from the pew and hollered, “Father Peter! Father Peter!” while waving his hands wildly. The parents tried to wrestle the kid, who was no more than 4 or 5, back down into the pew.

Father Peter, who looked a tad amused, waved the child forward. “Speak my child, and you shall be heard.”

The kids scrambled into the aisle, and asked a bit bashfully, but sincerely, “Do you like being stoneded or crux-fried like Jesus?” The whole church broke out in whispers and little chuckles at the innocent child’s question and wording. Bellamy watched as Clarke and her companion shook with silent laughter. He could hear his guys all trying to hide their laughter… Looking over, he noticed a couple of them red in the face trying to keep their laughter silent.

The Father looked directly at Bellamy’s group of mischief-makers and narrowed his eyes. He turned back to the child and said, “I would follow in the path of our Lord and Savior, and be crucified. Alright everyone, have a wonderful afternoon, and be safe.”

With those final quick words, they were dismissed. Father Peter watched from the pulpit as Bellamy rushed his motley crew outside, trying to avoid another altercation. They didn’t stop until they were outside, on the steps of the church.

Amelia got caught up talking to several people, allowing Bellamy a moment with his guys. Once the loud howling of laughter was complete, everyone slowly went silent noticing Bellamy had been completely silent.

While their antics were amusing to Bellamy, he had to be stern with them, and let them know this behavior wasn’t condonable in church.

Bellamy shook his head at each of his five troublemakers. “I am so very disappointed.” Is all he had to say for each of them to hang their heads in shame. “Pull anything like that again in church, and there will be severe consequences. You should all know better. It makes it worse to have all of this happen while I’m not here. This behavior can be construed extremely badly… It looks like I have no control over my own guys, and I just let you all run wild.” Bellamy took a minute to make sure his voiced remained cool. “Get your act together. Do you understand?”

He received various ‘Yes Sirs’. Bellamy nodded. “Okay… We’ve been given another situation to deal with. Apparently there are some new up and coming young thugs in the Bronx that are dealing a new highly addictive drug in the high schools. Go home all of you, and get some sleep… Recoup. We’ve got serious work to be done tonight. I want Monty and Jasper on computers and everyone else on the streets, collecting any and all intel you can. This is a bit of a time sensitive issue... I want this mess cleaned up before school lets out at the end of the month. Not only are there kids being killed, but Jake is talking about coming in for a visit and to do a bit of business in a few weeks, and I’d like this to be resolved before he gets here.”

While his guys were nodding, Bellamy noticed his grandmother slowly encroaching on where he and his guys were standing. He knew he only had a few precious seconds to finish issuing his orders before his Nonni got a hold of him. “Antonio… Give Sterling my number, and text me his. Inform him to be on the lookout for my call later. If no one has heard from me by the time you leave tonight, assume I’m dead, my grandmother has killed me, and my body is in the Hudson River. Off you go… All of you.”

They left rather quickly, knowing their Boss was about to get an ear full from the Collins family matriarch.

Bellamy stood straight, and watched as his grandmother made her was casually toward him stopping to say hi and ask how people were. Bellamy briefly thought to run, and save himself, but he knew it was useless. She’d just find him and lecture him ‘til his ears bled. At least if he stood his ground and took it like a man, he had a chance of survival.

Finally, she stood before him. She had a pleasant smile on her face, but her eyes were a hard blue. “Well if it isn’t my tardy grandson who tried to sneak into church like a rat, hoping to be slick, without his dear old Nonni seeing. Oh how you hurt my heart child. What was so important that you miss the first 15 minutes of church, huh?” She asked sternly. Oh she was mad. When she got really mad, she didn’t speak Italian, only English. It was the exact opposite of him.

“I am so terribly sorry Nonni. I forgot to set my alarm, and I didn’t fall asleep ‘til very early this morning. I didn’t mean to miss the first 15 minutes of church.” Bellamy apologized.

“What on God’s green earth happened to your face child?” She asked, ignoring his apology, as she reached up and grabbed his chin turning his head downward and to the side to better see his forehead.

“Uh… Fell.” Bellamy said. It wasn’t _technically_ a lie. He did fall… After Adam pushed him that is. He just left out the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Uh-huh… Look around you. We are on holy ground. Lying by omission is still lying, so do you want to try retelling that?” She asked with her eyebrow raised.

Bellamy sighed heavily. “It’s a really long story. Just know that it was a bad bit of business, and that I handled it. I promise you I am fine. I had it looked at in the hospital.” He gave his best reassuring smile, thinking she would be appeased by the news he had a professional look him over… Drop dead gorgeous professional, but a professional none the less.

“So first off, you don’t call your Nonni and tell her you’re hurt and in the hospital, or that you’re okay, then you try to lie about what happened, then you come late to church? _My goodness grandson. What has the world come to?_ ” She finished in Italian.

Bellamy relaxed a bit hearing her speak Italian. She was still upset with him, but not furious, which was progress. Bellamy decided, rather than open his mouth, and risk digging himself in to his grave further, he would just settle for silent pleading. He put on his best innocent-remorseful face and waited. His big brown eyes hadn’t failed him yet…

Amelia stared at her remorseful grandson. The poor thing looked so haggard and worn down. She decided to cut him some slack. The sweet boy always worked so hard to please everyone. At least he made an effort to come to church at all.

“It’s okay _tesorino_ _(sweetheart)_. Give Nonni a hug. All is well.” She said sweetly. After hugging his grandmother, she began speaking. “Now, I was thinking of introducing you to Mrs. Helen and Mrs. Doris, they have granddaughters about your age which they’ll try and push on you, but…”

Bellamy tuned out whatever his grandmother was saying, as something over her shoulder caught his attention… Clarke and her companion were exiting the church. Clarke had on a beautiful white sleeveless dress made of some kind of lace that hugged her waist and fell loosely around her hips and seemed to sway as she walked. The dress ended at the top of her knees, giving him a nice view of her legs. She looked positively radiant.

The couple faced each other, with Clarke’s back facing Bellamy. The man said some words to her and she nodded at what he was saying. Then he hugged her tightly, and noticed Bellamy watching them. He glared hostilely at Bellamy before focusing back on Clarke. He kissed her temple, and then made his way down the steps and across the street to a silver Nissan GT-R NISMO.

Bellamy only knew about the car, because Romeo and Diego had been talking nonstop about wanting one for months now. _Of course the son of a bitch has one. Perfect girl, perfect car… Perfect life._ Bellamy thought bitterly.

Bellamy was so immersed in his melancholy thoughts with his head down, he didn’t notice that his grandmother had stopped talking and was quietly observing him, wondering what caused her grandson to become so downcast and miserable looking. He also missed the blonde that caught sight of his grandmother and started to walk over.

Once Amelia caught sight of Clarke a few step away, she grinned with delight and moved to hug the younger woman.

“Hello _mia cara ragazza (my dear girl)_. How are you doing?” She asked with a silvery voice.

Clarke’s voice snapped Bellamy out of his musings. He turned to watch her smile genuinely and brightly at his grandmother. “I am doing wonderful Mrs. Collins. What about yourself?”

“Oh Clarke how many times must I tell you to call me Amelia? I am doing fantastic. I got my grandson to come to church with me today. Come, let me introduce you to him.” His grandmother pulled Clarke the last few steps so she was standing directly in front of him.

“Actually, I met him a couple of days ago.” Clarke said to a surprised Amelia. She looked at Bellamy. “How’s the head and arm Mr. Blake?”

“Are we really going to go through this again Princess? It’s Bellamy.” He said with a smirk. “I’m feeling much better. I guess it’s because I had such a great doctor.” He finished with a charming wink. Cue the blush.

“I take it you two know each other?” Amelia said, her eyes flittering between the two of them with interest.

“Yeah Nonni… She was my doctor at the hospital when I was there Friday.” Bellamy said, still watching Clarke intensely.

“Oh really?” Amelia asked a bit surprised. “Well thank you so much dear.” She said to Clarke.

Clarke blushed a bit more. “It was nothing really. I was just doing my job.”

“You’re so modest, sweet girl. It is a real relief for me, to know you were the one looking after him. I really enjoyed meeting you for lunch last week. We must do it again. Please?” Amelia and Clarke both looked so joyous talking to one another. They had practically all but ignored Bellamy who was still standing there, peering at Clarke in a way that he hoped wasn’t completely obvious.

“I would absolutely love to do lunch again. How does Tuesday sound?” Clarke asked excitedly.

“Wonderful! I’ll find a new restaurant for us to try out, and send you the information. Speaking of restaurants… Bellamy, I can’t do lunch today.” His grandmother said turning to him with serious, sorrowful look on her face, but a glint of something in her eyes, that Bellamy, for the life of him, couldn’t place.

Bellamy was positively confused. They didn’t have lunch plans. He _was_ going to ask his grandmother to go to lunch with him of course, but he hadn’t gotten the chance… Maybe he forgot they already had plans? Before her could question her on what she was talking about, Amelia continued. “I know we were supposed to go for lunch today, but Gloria is insisting I attend her ridiculous tea luncheon to discuss the charity gala we’re planning. Completely preposterous if you ask me, to do it on a Sunday, but what can you do?” She said with exasperation. She looked at Bellamy. “I hate to disrupt our plans… But perhaps you could take Clarke instead.” She quickly turned to Clarke, “That is, if you don’t mind dear. If you have a prior engagement, I completely understand, but if I know my grandson, he’ll just go home and work in his office the rest of the day if he has no one to get him out.”

Now he knew what was going on… His grandmother was setting him up on a date! Good God. This was not happening. Clarke looked a bit uneasy, and quite frankly, the idea of going out with her, and spending time with her, only to have her go home to another man, put Bellamy on edge. Not to mention his grandmother setting him up was completely mortifying… Jeez. You’d think he had no type of game with the way his grandmother was talking.

“Nonni… I’m sure she has a boyfriend to be getting to. We wouldn’t want to delay her.” Bellamy said with a pointed look at his grandmother. Nonni had the temerity to look innocent. She turned to Clarke.

“Why dear, you never told me you had a young man… You must bring him to church to meet the ladies.”

Clarke cleared her throat and said, “Actually, I don’t have a boyfriend or anything. It’s just me.” Her smile was a bit forced before becoming genuine as she said, “My older brother just flew into town last night. I brought him with me this morning. He just left not just ten minutes ago, so you missed him by a smidge. He’s looking at apartments today before he has to leave again tomorrow, so I let him borrow my car. I’m not sure how long he’ll be.” It was obvious by the way she talked about him, that she loved her brother very dearly.

Bellamy felt the knot in his chest loosen upon hearing that the strange man from last night and this morning was her brother. He began putting the pieces together- the reason why they never kissed on the lips, and why she was so comfortable with the man. He was there last night, because he had just gotten into town, and wanted to surprise his little sister. That also explained her reaction of shock and joy upon seeing him. The man’s glare, just minutes ago was a warning not to stay away from his girl, but to stay away from his little sister. The perfect car was her car, and she was single.

Bellamy fought hard to keep his face neutral, and not let the massive grin spread across his face. He watched as his grandmother began asking Clarke various questions about this older brother she clearly adored. He was too preoccupied with his relief to follow what was being said in the conversation. Clarke’s genuine, melodious laugh caused something to stir in Bellamy’s chest. He felt… Warm. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel the crushing, numbing, coldness.

“ _Bambino_? Bellamy?” His grandmother called him. He realized he’d been standing there for a while in a daze, probably looking like an idiot. He quickly responded.

“Sorry Nonni… Lost in thought.” Bellamy said sheepishly. She just patted his cheek lovingly before turning back to Clarke.

“See dear… He needs to get out.” Oh dear Lord!! He was not that bad!

“Nonni…” He started to protest.

“Actually, I would love to go out for lunch.” Clarke said to his grandmother. She turned to Bellamy. “If that’s okay with you Bellamy.”

Bellamy nodded stunned, while his grandmother was practically rejoicing. She quickly said her goodbyes, with a kiss on the cheek for her grandson, and a hug and a promise to call about lunch on Tuesday for Clarke, and then she was off.

There was an awkward pause before Bellamy spoke. “I’m sorry about that… I had no idea she was going to try and set us up like that.” He said waving his hand in the direction his grandmother had disappeared.

“It’s okay,” She said with a smile. “I really like your grandmother. She is so sweet. It’s so clear how much she loves and worries for you.” She paused before saying a bit nervously. “We don’t actually have to go out. I understand your grandmother was pressuring you, and I figured she would be disappointed if one of us declined, and I didn’t want to do that. I completely understand if you have somewhere to be or someone to meet.” She finished earnestly.

“Trying to ditch me Princess? Who would have thought you were so heartless as to drop a man after agreeing to go to lunch with him?” Bellamy held a hand over his heart in mock hurt, and smirked at her look of horror. “Fortunately for you, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’ve got all the time in the world to take you out for lunch, so where do you want to go?”

“McDonald’s.” She said without hesitation. Bellamy about choked on air. She had to be joking right? The girl was about to have lunch with a multi-billionaire, and she wanted McDonald’s… What?! Albeit she didn’t know he was a multi-billionaire, at least he didn’t think she did, but still… What?!

Suddenly she busted out laughing. She laughed so hard, she had tears streaming down her face. She was completely red in the face by the time she was finished. “I’m sorry, but I had to get you back for the ditching comment.” She said finally, giggling a bit. “You should have seen your face.” She did, what he guessed, was supposed to be an imitation of what his face must have looked like- horror, lots of horror, with a hint of fear. She collapsed in another fit of laughter, with Bellamy joining her this time.

“You really had me going for a minute there Princess.” Bellamy said breathing heavily from all the laughing. Finally, once both people were composed, he asked. “Where would you like to eat, for real this time?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. Out-of-towner here, remember?” She said pointing at herself. Then she poked him in the chest lightly. “You’re the New Yorker, so you pick the place. I eat everything but fish.”

Bellamy thought for a moment. She didn’t seem like the type of girl to appreciate or be impressed by a really ritzy place, but he wasn’t about to take her to a food truck or, God forbid, a McDonald’s.

Finally, the perfect place popped into his mind… It was a bit of a personal place, but he knew she would just absolutely love it. He offered her his right arm, noticing that she didn’t hesitate before looping her arm around his. They began walking down the rest of the steps of the church, and toward his car. It was about a ten-minute drive to the place.

He opened her door for her, like the gentleman his mother and grandmother raised him to be, and waited for her to get in before saying, with a little grin, “Alright Princess… I know a great place. I hope you like pizza.” Before closing her door.

He walked around, got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and then they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm... So Clarke has a brother. Interesting or no? Damian's trying to marry Finn off? WHAT?! Who was freaking out thinking she had a boyfriend (I know some of you were -_-)? What about the guys and their pre-church buffoonery? Was anyone surprised it was Marcus in the shadows? Did Nonni let Bellamy off too easy for being late? I WANT TO KNOW!!! Anything and everything you think about the chapter, or the story in general. I LOVE hearing from you guys.
> 
> -Redhead17x


	10. A Little Taste of Italy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank God it's Friday people!! While I have not had the greatest day today, I hope this cute chapter will make some of yours :) I know this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but I'm hoping the content will make up for it. We will be back to longer chapters starting next chapter. Enjoy my dearest readers...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 10- A Little Taste of Italy**

The drive seemed so much shorter than the ten minutes it took to get to the restaurant due to the endless amount of questions Clarke appeared to ask about the city, and about what it was like to live and grow up in the Big Apple. She was so curious and eager in her questioning, wanting to know everything. Bellamy diligently answered every one of her questions, enjoying her keen interest in everything he was saying.

Bellamy parked some ways away from the pizzeria giving them a nice little walk. He quickly rushed to the other side of the car to open Clarke’s door before she could, and helped her out of the car. Once on the sidewalk, Clarke started looking around, looking for any clue as to where they were going. Bellamy smiled a little.

He offered her his right arm, so she’d be walking on the inside of the street, and watched as she didn’t hesitate in taking it, completely relaxed and at ease with him. She ceased to surprise him.

As they began walking, she asked, not for the first time, “Where are we going?”

“I told you Princess... Pizza.” He grinned at her impatience. “I take it you aren’t one for surprises?”

She pursed her lips. “Eh… I say I’m neutral. I don’t hate them, but I’m not crazy for them either. What about you?”

“Can’t stand them.” He said simply.

“Yeah, I…” Whatever she was about to say next, was stopped as they turned the corner onto Mulberry Street. Clarke stopped at the sight if the white sign over the street that read ‘Welcome to Little Italy’. She smiled the most breathtaking smile.

“You brought me to Little Italy? This was one of the places on my list that I wanted to come see… How did you know?” She asked looking up at him with her bottomless blue eyes.

Bellamy shrugged casually. “Well I didn’t know you had this place on a list of anything, but I figured, since you said you hadn’t seen much of the city, this was as good a place to start as any.”

“I can’t wait to explore it…” She said looking around at the shops and the green, white, and red decorations that encompassed the street.

“We’ll have time for that,” Bellamy promised. “But for now, food first. I skipped breakfast.”

As they walked down the street, Bellamy began pointing out various shops and restaurants along the way, as well as explaining a bit of the history that surrounded the place. He explained how it was named due to the large population of Italians that moved into the area in the early 1900’s, but had declined over the years, and was only now making a quiet come back. He explained how each block was supposed to represent a different part of the old country.

Finally, they came to a stop outside a restaurant called ‘Big City Italy’. The exterior was worn old-fashioned red brick, with vines and ivy growing up the brick and around the windows and door. The door was a beautiful wooden Dutch door with the top half opened. The front windows had white trimming, with intricate brick arches. There were a few tables under the red, white, and green awning, with classic checkered table clothes adorning them.

Clarke looked at Bellamy, “Is this the place?” She asked curiously.

Bellamy nodded and ushered her into the small pizzeria, taking a seat at one of the booths along the wall.

A waitress quickly rushed over once she caught sight of Bellamy, and laid a menu down on the table. “Mr. Blake, sir. What can I get you to drink?” She was focused solely on Bellamy, not paying an inkling of attention to Clarke. It was as if she didn’t exist… That kind of pissed Bellamy off.

Bellamy figured Clarke would be a little peeved or upset, but she was too busy scanning the walls of the establishment taking note of the old photos, newspaper clippings, and paintings, as well as the classic Italian décor of the pizzeria, to notice the rude behavior of the waitress.

“Clarke, what would you like to drink?” Bellamy asked, with a bit of amusement.

“Water please.” She said giving him a smile that made his stomach do a funny flip… It was weird, but in an okay kind of way. She went back to studying the picture hanging on the wall over their table, while Bellamy sent their waitress off with their order of two waters, and a warning glare.

Bellamy handed her the menu, and watched as she scanned it quickly before setting it down and looking at him. “Okay, since I’m a newbie to this place, and you’ve obviously been here before, I say you order what we get on the pizza. What do you usually get on your pizza?”

“Cheese, Italian Sausage, mushrooms, onions, and black olives. What about you Princess?” Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows. He wondered if she was one of those girls that was afraid of food. The kind that picked at their food, or only ate leafy green things. Maybe she was a vegetarian. God, there was so much he wanted to know about her.

“I like the same actually, but I add green olives as well, and bacon.” She said with a grin. Bellamy couldn’t help but grin back. So no to the vegetarian, and leafy part.

The waitress came back, and set the two waters on the table. Bellamy quickly gave their order, and shooed the woman away.

“How did you know about this place Bellamy?” Clarke inquired.

“My maternal grandfather opened this place for my grandmother shortly after they were married. She had moved here from Italy, wanting an adventure, and wound up meeting my grandfather… He was Filipino and had grown up here in the city after his parents immigrated here shortly before he was born.” Bellamy pointed to a black and white picture on the wall of a man proudly standing on the street in front of the restaurant, with a beautiful woman at his side. “My grandmother had a love of cooking all things Italian, especially pizza, and dreamed about one day owning a restaurant. So my grandfather worked to make her dream happen, eventually opening this restaurant for her so she could cook to her heart’s desire. He, my grandmother, and eventually my mother when she was born, all lived in the little apartment upstairs.” This time he pointed to a picture of a couple with a little girl, sitting in one of the booths, all grinning happily.

“Wow… It’s been open for all these years?” Clarke asked in awe.

“Unfortunately, no. My grandparents died in a car accident when my mother was a teenager, and my mother, who had no desire to own or run a restaurant, sold the place to afford schooling. It sat vacant for years. It passed through quite a couple of new owners, but none of them ever used the place. I bought it a couple years ago, fixed it up to look exactly like it did when my grandfather and grandmother owned the place, and opened it. It’s been pretty successful so far.”

Clarke looked impressed. “That’s really awesome Bellamy. I’m sure your grandparents would be proud of you if they could see this place. Is your mother proud?” She asked curiously.

Bellamy tensed, and internally flinched. It had been a long time since he had talked about his mother, but here he was discussing his family, and family heritage, with a stranger no less. “She, uh, died. When I was a kid.” He gave no further information. He prayed she didn’t ask questions, or push him to talk about it.

He waited for pity to show in her gaze, but it never came. She nodded somberly, before doing something that surprised him. She slid a hand across the table to where one of his rested, and squeezed it once, sending shock waves through his body, before removing it, and that was it. No, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’, or ‘I know how you feel’. Just quiet acceptance and comfort.

“What’s your favorite color?” She asked suddenly.

Bellamy was thrown for a moment. “I dunno… Grey maybe.” He lied. His new favorite color was the alluring blueish hue of her eyes, but he didn’t say that. He figured she would chime in with her favorite color, but of course his princess tended to do the opposite of what he expected.

She sat thinking, then asked, “What was your best, or favorite subject in school?”

“History.” He answered immediately. “And it was both, my best and favorite.”

“That’s intriguing. Do you like it overall, or is there a certain period that fascinates you?”

“I like the Greek and Roman period best, but history overall is riveting.” He replied.

“What’s your favorite mythological Greek god or goddess then?” These questions that she was asking were so… Personal. But not in a nosy or bad way…

She wanted to know things about him… His likes and favorites, things about his mind, not material things like his bank account balance or net worth, and that alone, meant the world to him. He knew it was foolish to talk with her, and not have her sign a non-disclosure agreement of some sort. She could go and sell everything he was saying to the highest gossip magazine bidder, and he couldn’t do a thing about it. The thing was… She didn’t seem like the type. He was sure his father, uncle, and a couple of his guys would probably call him crazy, but he trusted her, and he trusted his instincts that screamed she was an honest-to-goodness genuine person, and she wouldn’t betray him.

“I’m not telling ‘til you tell me your favorite. I assume you have a favorite.” Bellamy said, with a hint of challenge in his voice.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s a favorite per se, but I’ve always liked Hades.” She said. Noticing his shocked expression, she continued, albeit a little shyly. “A bit dark and morbid, I know, but I always found his story to be a bit sad and lonely.” She shrugged. Little did she know how her words affected Bellamy.

He often found several dark and sinister similarities between himself and the Greek god of the dead… It was one of the reasons he renamed the club _Underworld_ , in Italian. He was a little shocked to know she pitied what was considered one of the most fearsome, and frightening deities of ancient Greek mythology. He wanted to know why, and so he asked her.

“Well, he truly was given the worst lot out of the three brothers, and then was looked down upon by the other gods because of it. I mean he ruled the dead and always had these ridiculous heroes sneaking in and out of his realm trying to take souls back, or steal his dog, making his job harder… Who wouldn’t find that completely annoying. Then there was the fact that he was the god of wealth, but all the wealth in the world couldn’t take away the loneliness he felt. He had to resort to supposedly kidnapping a woman to find a companion. Then to only see her for a third of the year? It’s just sad to me.” She finished, blushing, but then she smiled and said playfully, “Rant over.”

 _She’s too perfect._ He thought in an awe-filled haze.

“So you don’t care that he did indeed kidnap her, and then tricked her into eating the pomegranate seed? That seems to be the thing he is remembered for most… Kinda seals the deal in regards to his evilness for most people.” Bellamy asked.

“Well, that’s the thing. For me, I like to think Persephone was a willing participant instead of the victim she’s made out to be. I would like to believe the opposite of the kidnapping tale, and believe Hades offered to save her from a lonely existence herself, and from her overbearing mother, by making her his queen. What girl wouldn’t want that?” She asked playfully. “Besides… I think letting people believe it was a kidnapping, was his way of protecting her. Like he was shielding her from what others might think of her.”

Before Bellamy could further probe her on the subject, they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. The conversation shifted and continued to flow, with each of them asking the other light and easy questions. Most of them involving favorites and likes and dislikes. Family, jobs, or any other potentially touchy subjects were avoided and never came up.

“So how do you know my grandmother?” Bellamy asked. It was something he had been wondering and wanted to know.

“Oh… Well, when I first got here, I started church shopping to find a church I felt at home in. The first couple of Catholic churches I had attended just weren’t what I was looking for… The sermons felt all wrong. I was recommended St. Anthony’s by a co-worker a couple weeks ago, decided to give it a try, and felt at home immediately. Anyway, my first Sunday at St. Anthony’s was when I met Amelia. She came over after the sermon to welcome me to the church, and we got to talking…” She said. Bellamy remembered one of the numerous committees his grandmother was on at the church was the welcoming committee. “We set up plans to go out for lunch last week, and had an amazing time… She is so wonderful!” Clarke exclaimed, making Bellamy grin.

They asked questions about nothing and everything all at once. It was the best lunch outing Bellamy had had in a very long time. Perhaps in forever.

Bellamy found that her favorite color depended on her mood, her favorite subject in school was art class, and that she loved being by the water. Christmas was her favorite holiday, she didn’t like to curse, but did so when she was extremely angry… Like over the top mad. She didn’t believe in horoscopes or anything, and she had an addiction to Fruit Loops, which was her favorite cereal. They continued asking questions back and forth- as many as they could while eating that is, and carrying on casual conversation.

The only hiccup came after they were finished eating. When the bill came, Clarke pulled her wallet out, stunning Bellamy for a minute.

“What are you doing?” He asked, suspiciously.

Clarke looked at him like he was stupid. “Curing cancer…” She said slowly. “Seriously, what does it look like I’m doing? Paying the bill, obviously.” She rolled her eyes.

“Uh, no you’re not. Try again… I’m paying.” Bellamy said arrogantly.

“I ate here, so I’m at least paying some of the bill.” She said sternly.

“No way. I’m serious. I can’t have you pay.” He said.

“Why the devil not?” She asked crossly.

“Because I said so.” Bellamy said firmly, expecting her to just bend to his will like everyone else did. His word was treated like law… _Except in this case it seems,_ Bellamy thought as he watched a dark look cross her face.

Clarke slowly raised her eyebrows at his steely command, and he watched in astonishment as she purposely and slowly reached into her wallet. She watched him the whole time, as if daring him to try and stop her.

“Don’t…” Bellamy started to growl, but with a flick of her wrist, she had two bills out, “…do it.” He finished lamely. Clarke grinned at his look of complete exasperation.

Suddenly an idea came to him. It was… Well, it was childish, but he knew it would be effective.

“Fine…” Bellamy shrugged offhandedly. “Your lecture.”

Clarke narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about Blake?” She asked wearily.

“Well, when my grandmother calls asking for details of our little outing, I will be forced to tell her about this whole bill debacle instead of chiding her for trying to set us up, and emphasizing that we aren’t dating.”

“Mr. Blake, are you threatening to tell on me to your sweet grandmother?” He could see her trying hard not to smile or chuckle.

“It’s okay… Laugh it up. Come Tuesday, you won’t be laughing or thinking she’s so sweet when you sit down to lunch with her, and then have her lecture you all the way up ‘til you get your food about proper date etiquette and how as a lady you should let a man do his gentlemanly duties and pay the bill. Then once you’re done eating, she’ll lay on the guilt and disappointment so thick you’ll do just about anything to get back in her good graces. It’s a terrifying ordeal that I was just trying to save you from.” Bellamy said casually.

“I don’t believe you…” She said skeptically. “Your grandmother is harmless.”

Bellamy shook his head mournfully. “And that’s how she gets them… Go ahead and pay the bill. I’m telling you, you will regret it on Tuesday.”

He could practically see the internal battle she was having. Finally, she looked up at him and glared. “Dirty pool, Blake. Dirty. Pool.” Her conceding defeat should have been his first clue that something bigger was going on. From what Bellamy could tell just from the time he had spent with her, she wasn’t one to give up, let alone give up that easily.

Bellamy was too smug with his win to notice Clarke’s face alight with a mischievous grin.

Once the bill was settled, with Bellamy paying, they both walked outside. They hadn’t taken four steps down the sidewalk before Clarke stopped and declared she forgot her phone. That should have been his second clue… She didn’t have her phone out at all when they were in the restaurant.

She appeared a couple of minutes later, wearing the most triumphant smile, if he ever did see one. That should have been his third clue that she was up to something, but he thought nothing of it. They spent their remaining time walking around, looking at the shops, talking, joking, and bantering back and forth. Bellamy felt as if he had known her for far longer than just mere hours.

But alas, good things must come to an end, and both called it quits knowing they both had work the next morning that they needed to prepare for, and Bellamy had a recon mission that night to put together.

Bellamy offered to drive her home, and Clarke, too tired from all the walking that they did, graciously accepted.

As soon as she gave him her address, Bellamy discreetly texted it to Sterling with instructions to get there and wait.

They spent the drive to her apartment discussing their music tastes. They both had very similar taste in music, except Clarke had a wider variety that she listened to. She was appalled with Bellamy’s unawareness of some of the names and bands she was throwing out.

“Bellamy!! How can you have never heard a Gavin DeGraw song?” Bellamy shrugged non-committedly. “Amber Run then?” Bellamy shook his head no. “Saftysuit?” Nope. Clarke sighed heavily. “Well… I guess that’s that. We can’t be friends anymore.” She said shaking her head in fake disappointment.

Bellamy paused. He didn’t even know they had crossed into friendship territory to begin with and now she was already kicking his ass out?! Man, women were fickle creatures, he would just never understand.

“Do you mean that?” He asked hesitantly.

“Of course not you goober.” She said without hesitation, and just like that, he was back in. “It just means I have to educate you in music, is all. Okay… Do you at least know who Snow Patrol is?” She asked hopefully.

“I got this… It’s another name for Canadian or possibly Russian border patrol. Right?” He knew it was the name of a band that he was almost positive he’d never listened to, but he wanted to see what she’d do, and boy, she didn’t disappoint.

She groaned miserably, and buried her face in her hands. Bellamy heard her muffled voice ask through her hand, “Another tactic then… Is there anyone you don’t like?”

“Yeah… Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Coldplay.” Bellamy said.

Clarke peeked up at him grinning. “There is hope for you yet.”

Not five minutes later, they pulled up to Clarke’s brick six story apartment building. She lived on the fifth floor. Bellamy took a casual scan of the nice cozy neighborhood she lived in, while walking around to open her door. From what he could tell, her brother wasn’t home yet. After he helped her out, he began to walk her to the door of her apartment building. His trained mind taking note of all the threats, hazards, and lack of security that surrounded her on a daily basis. She seemed to live in a pretty safe place, but looks can be deceiving. Having Sterling watching her would make him feel ten times better.

They stopped just outside the entrance. There was an awkward pause before they both spoke at the same time.

“So, what…” Bellamy started.

“Can we….” Clarke said.

Both stopped upon hearing the other speaking. Clarke looked away, a hint of pink flushing her cheeks.

“You go first.” Bellamy said.

“Can we do this again? It’s really great to have a friend outside of work…” She said shyly. _There was that word again… Friend._ Bellamy pondered. He never had a friend that was a girl and he didn’t really want friendship, to be exact, from Clarke. He, in all honesty, had no idea what he wanted from her, and that alone aggravated him to no end. Bellamy Blake always knew what he wanted… Except in the strange and curious case of Clarke Griffin.

The dream he’d the night before flashed through his mind. Her beautiful face pale and stricken with fear, tears coursing down her face, and that melodious voice begging not to die, for him to save her, right before the loud bang of the gun, and complete crushing silence right before her body hit the floor. Her vibrant blue eyes, dull and lifeless, and once golden blonde hair, soaked red by her own blood. The mere memory of the dream sent chills down his spine and caused the cold vise wrapped around his heart to tighten painfully.

Seeing as how he’d already established he wasn’t good enough for her and she was safer away from him… Being her friend seemed to be the perfect compromise and solution. He could have the best of both worlds… He could see her, watch over her, get to know her, and be close enough to protect her but not be tied down in a relationship, taint her with his darkness, or be too close to make her a target. Yes, friendship was what he wanted, Bellamy decided.

He was suddenly drawn out of his head by Clarke speaking again. “Or not. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …” He realized he hadn’t said anything, and she was thinking he was rejecting her offer. He was quick to reassure her… He wasn’t about to let her get away.

“No, I would love to actually… I was going to ask you what you were doing Tuesday evening anyway. I know you said you had the day off, and I figured we could continue with your unofficial New York tour.” Bellamy said, stuffing is hands in his pockets a tad nervously.

“Really?” She asked excitedly. Bellamy couldn’t help the smile that graced his face at her adorable display of enthusiasm to his suggestion.

“Really.” He confirmed. “Where’s your phone? I’ll give you my number.”

Bellamy immediately noticed Clarke’s sheepish expression. “Uh… Yeah about that… I don’t have my phone with me.”

Bellamy was confused. “What do you mean? I thought you went back for it at the restaurant.”

“Yeah… I actually left my phone in the car this morning before church. That was just an excuse to go back and tip the waitress a ten.” She said looking up at him with an innocent expression.

“I… But… how…” Bellamy stuttered, completely stunned to the point where words failed him.

“Well you went all growl-y with your ‘because I said so’.” She said deepening her voice when she quoted him. “I couldn’t let you get away with that behavior, so what else was I supposed to do?” Bellamy really wanted to be mad, but with her looking up at him with those big blue eyes, he just couldn’t do it. _I am in so much trouble here…_ Bellamy thought. She had this strange power over him that he was helpless to resist. With one look, she had him completely at ease and even amused, when he would normally be mad as hell that someone went against him.

“You sneaky little fox…” Bellamy said shaking his head in amusement. She just grinned at him. He pulled his phone out and had her type her contact information. She also took a selfie for the contact picture, before he saved it. He sent her a message before putting his phone back in his pocket, so she had his number too.

He turned back to her and said, “I’ll pick you up Tuesday at six, okay?”

She nodded and reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Talk to you later.” She gave him one more sunny smile before turning and walking to the door. She paused just before she reached it, and turned around, narrowing her eyes. She looked him dead in the eye and said sternly. “If you tattle on me to your grandmother about the tip, I will tell her we are planning a fall wedding and ten kids, then let you be the one to tell her we are just friends. You will be in big trouble mister.”

 _Damn, she’s so feisty._ Bellamy thought admiringly. “Yes, Ma’am.” He said grinning. He added a playful little salute making her giggle before she turned and disappeared into the building taking her radiance and happiness with her. Bellamy could feel the warmth, from just being in her presence, seeping out of him, leaving him feeling cold and empty. The grin she evoked from him so easily, slowly fell from his face as the cold made its presence known.

He turned and walked back to his car. Once he was sitting comfortably behind the wheel, he waited three minutes before the passenger door opened. Sterling slid into the seat with a quiet, “Boss,” and waited for orders.

“I hear you’re looking to be initiated. You talk to Antonio?”

“Yes sir.”

“Give me a summary of your instructions then.” Bellamy said still watching the building entrance.

“I’m on surveillance for one Doctor Clarke Griffin… Description blonde hair, blue eyes, short… Until you say otherwise. I am not to engage the target, unless she’s in danger. No one is to know but you, Antonio, and I.” He finished.

Bellamy slowly nodded his head once. “Correct. I want reports of her movements, and anything important you think I should know in addition to whenever I ask you for a report. You report to me and me alone about her movements and such. No one is to know I’m actively getting these reports either. If Antonio asks, just say she’s safe, nothing about what she does or who’s she’s with. You have access to whomever and whatever you need to ensure you are mentally and physically alert and capable to watch and protect her efficiently. I’m sure you’re wondering why I chose you for this job… It’s simple really. It’s because Antonio trusts you, which means I should trust you.” Bellamy turned his head to look at the man his was entrusting the safety of his princess with. “If something happens to her on your watch, and I find out you were screwing around, or any of my orders are disobeyed…” Bellamy paused. “All I can tell you is run. It won’t stop me from finding you and killing you, but it will give me a thrill to hunt your ass down before I do.” Bellamy said in a dark and serious tone. There was no mistaking that he meant what he said.

Sterling nodded and gulped. “Yes sir. I owe you my life, and I promise to protect her with it.” He vowed.

“Good man…” Bellamy nodded. “Now get out. I’ve got stuff to do.” He dismissed.

The man quickly exited the car and disappeared. Bellamy sat for another moment clearing his head before starting his car and driving off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? It is crucial I get some really in-depth feedback here. Not that I have to tell you all ;) because you all leave me such awesome comments anyway. I want to know what you really liked and what you didn't... A comment and a little love could go a really long way in inspiring my writing :)
> 
> As always, I love and thank each one of you for taking the time to leave me a comment. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it!!  
> -Redhead17x


	11. The Non-Date Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday peeps!! Sorry for the late upload :/ I can hardly believe were already on Chapter 11... It truly amazes me how much love and support and encouragement you all have given me, and continue to give me with your comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Without further ado, Chapter 11...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 11- The Non-Date Date**

_She and some guy went to the bodega up the street, and came back with groceries. All locked up tight for the night it looks like. I’ll report back if anything changes. –S_

Bellamy sat, staring at the message from Sterling. He relaxed a bit at the knowledge that she was safe at home. He assumed the guy she was with was her brother. He, on the other hand, was supposed to be gearing up for a night on the streets. He was the type of leader who didn’t ask things of his men that he himself wasn’t willing to do, so he was going out with his guys to see if they could figure out what the hell was going on in the Bronx. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. He mentally cleared his head, getting in the right frame of mind. The night was still young, and anything could happen… He needed to be prepared.

Around him the sounds of cabinets banging, voices talking, and the occasional sound of a gun being loaded echoed in the large garage. All his guys were here, dressed in dark, baggy clothes, getting their weapons cleaned, loaded, and ready to go.

This had become their ritual before missions. They all gathered in the garage at the club, and went through information, checked weapons, and got orders. Bellamy found that the comradery of being close before going out seemed to settle everyone, and help them get their heads in the game. Being together focused them all, and reminded them of what they fought for whenever they left their sanctuary… Family.

"Jasper, if you don't wake up and help me, I swear I'm going to eat all your Girl Scout cookies!" Monty shouted after trying to wake Jasper up for the past 20 minutes.

Jasper, who was lying on top of a metal table, grumbled something to the effects of, "You don't know where they are." Before flipping over onto his side, away from Monty, towards Bellamy's direction, and curling into a ball.

"Oh…" Monty grinned evilly. "You mean the box of Shortbreads in the air vent?" Jasper's eyes popped open, listening to his best friend. "Or the box of Tagalongs duck taped to the underside of the pool table in the House?" His mouth dropped. "Or the box of Samoas hidden in your hollowed out hard cover copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by your desk?" He scrambled until he was sitting upright. "Or perhaps the Do-Si-Does on top of the liquor shelf in the storage room." Monty paused, and walked around to stare at the now wide-awake Jasper, who was sitting up fully gaping at his best friend. "Oooorrr…" He drew the word out.

"No…" Jasper whispered menacingly. "Don't you dare! Not the…"

"Box of Thin Mints stashed in Antonio's office." Monty finished smugly. All the guys were staring now, taking note of the cookie stash locations.

Antonio grinned. "Thin Mints in my office? Score. Thanks dude." He said to Monty for letting that piece of information slip, before turning back to reloading the clip in his hand.

Jasper lunged at Monty, who danced gracefully out of the way causing Jasper to fall and hit the floor. "I'm up." He said miserably, not moving from the hard ground. "Monty… You're a butt munch. Now I've got to go hide them all before Antonio and Murphy's big mouths get ahold of them."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. These two were his eyes in the sky when they were out in the field… He briefly wondered how they weren't all dead by now.

Bellamy quickly laced up his boots and zipped up his black hoodie. He had two 9mm Glocks in the shoulder holster underneath his hoodie, and his Eagle at his back tucked into his jeans, held there by his belt. He was ready to go.

He stood up, put his phone on vibrate, and slipped it in his pocket. Everyone noticed Bellamy standing, ready to go, and quickly wrapped up what they were doing. Once his guys were ready, Bellamy crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table at his back. He nodded to Monty and said, "Tell us about the drug." Monty grabbed a clip board on one of the tables and began to go through it explaining what he found.

"Okay, from what I can tell, the drug contains similar ingredients found in hallucinogens and stimulants as well as other chemicals. Think… ecstasy meets speed. The official name is Whiperia; street names include Whip, Re-Re, and Cats Eye."

"What the hell kind of stupid names are those?" Murphy asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"Whip is pretty obvious, Re-Re is some kind of mangled nickname off its official ending –ria, and Cats Eye is because the color of the drug in its liquid form is a weird yellow color that looks like the color of a cat's eye." Monty summarized from one of his clipboard papers.

"How does it work?" Miller asked.

Monty flipped to another page. "According to some of the coroner reports on the kids that died from this stuff, the chemicals in the drug increase the level of neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. This creates the high, while other chemicals attack the adrenal glands causing an adrenaline rush. The adrenaline mixed with the high levels of neurotransmitters prolong the high and hallucinations, while increasing its intensity." Monty finished.

"How is it killing people then? What are the side effects?" Lucca asked.

Monty flipped through a couple of more papers, and whistled. "How is it not killing people would be a better question. Side effects are a really long list including: increased heart rate and blood pressure, sharp spike in body temperature, increased alertness, attention, energy, and narrowed blood vessels. The increased blood pressure gets so severe that it triggers brain bleeding… They die of subdural hematomas."

"Wait… Are you telling me that this drug literally caused their brains to explode?" Romeo asked in astonishment.

"Well… Not exploding like you're thinking, but yes, in some of the deaths the pressure in the head built up to the point where it busted an artery or a blood vessel, and the brain hemorrhaged. In one case, the kid had an unknown brain aneurism that burst, causing him to stroke out and die."

"Damn…" Diego muttered. "What about the other cases?"

"Uh… The increased heart rate over an extended period of time caused some heart failures or heart attacks and the sharp rise in temperature led to organ failure and eventually death in some cases." He finished setting the clip board down.

Everyone was silent, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Bellamy spoke drawing their attention to the task at hand. "Okay… I have no idea who the dealers or suppliers are. Dealers are most likely kids in these schools. I was thinking suppliers could be gangs, like the Bloods or Crips, but then I realized they wouldn't push this shit in our city, and especially not in the schools. They aren't stupid enough to do this in our backyard. They know we would wipe them out without thinking for pulling a stunt like this. This is someone new… Be on the lookout for mentions of an up-and-comer. They know this is our city, but they think they're being sly by selling this stuff to kids… That we won't notice it's in the schools and not on the streets. Lucca, Antonio, and I will take Hunt's Point. Miller and Murphy you're in Mott Haven. Romeo, Diego, take South Bronx. Monty and Jasper are on comms of course."

Jasper handed out the earbuds, while Bellamy continued speaking. His guys were about due for a pep talk. "Listen, I know it's been rough here lately. We're being pulled in every direction, and spread a little too thin, but we can do this. We have weathered tougher storms than this together, and we all know it won't last. We'll come out stronger for it like we always do. 'If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.'" He quoted.

"Who said that boss?" Antonio asked.

"Henry Ford." Bellamy answered.

Jasper paused, still holding the earbud in his hand out to Murphy. He looked up and stared at Bellamy with his eyes scrunched together. "Uh… No he didn't. I'm pretty sure Christopher Columbus said that right before he found Alaska." He said with a tone that implied Bellamy should know this.

There were various groans around the room, a few face palms, and a couple of exasperated, "Really Jasper?"

Murphy just shook his head taking the earbud from the man's hand before clasping his shoulder and saying, "Jasper, I don't doubt you believe that's true buddy."

Once they were ready to leave, Monty and Jasper disappeared upstairs to get set up in their cave, while the guys and Bellamy all exited the garage and separated into their teams. Each team got into one of three black Cadillac Escalades before taking off.

The drive was silent, as everyone was listening in on Monty and Jasper talking back and forth to each other, listing off bits of information and doing their checks to make sure everything was running smooth.

"Okay men… Roll call." Jasper chirped through the link. "Team One: Enforcer." He called Miller's street name.

"Here." Came Miller's disembodied voice.

"Menace."

"On fleek." Murphy said with certainty.

"Team One check. Team Two: Beast."

"Present." Diego's deep voice rumbled.

"Hot Shot."

"In the zone." Romeo said smoothly.

"Team Two check. Team Three: Shadow."

"Verified." Antonio said quietly from the passenger seat.

"Ghost."

"Affirmative." Lucca answered seriously from the back seat.

"And last but not least, the boss man himself gentlemen… Rebel."

"Coming in loud and clear Jasper. Wrap it all up for us Monty." Bellamy said while driving.

"Team Three check." Jasper finished before Monty's voice came through.

"Trackers strong, comms in sync, and systems running perfectly. Eagle Eye going on standby. Check-in is in two hours. Good luck guys."

For the first hour, Bellamy, Lucca, and Antonio tracked down as many drug dealers that they could find and pumped them for information… In some of the cockier cases it was threatened them for information. They weren't getting anything. No one knew who was supplying the shit… They wanted to know who it was just as much as Bellamy did, because they were losing business from the whole thing.

Bellamy gave up on the idea of the drug dealers knowing anything, and instead turned to the gangs of the area. He got through interrogating the local chapter of the Bloods before check-in occurred. No one had heard or seen anything noteworthy, but they were still hard at work looking. Check-in was going to be in another two hours.

An hour was spent with the Crips, with the same results… Nothing. Bellamy decided his last stop for the night before he called the hunt off, would be the local Hoovers chapter… Another bust. As they were leaving, he had Miller come through on the comms saying they had something, and for them all to meet them at a St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven.

On the drive over, Miller and Murphy took turns explaining how they came across a kid on the streets, who was the older brother of a friend of one of the dead guy's. It was all very confusing. But if the kid knew what he was talking about and could give them some useful information, Bellamy didn't care how they ran across him.

They reached the park at 2:30 in the morning, and drove around to the corner of the park with the baseball field. Romeo and Diego were there leaning against their SUV that was parked across the street behind Murphy and Miller's SUV. After parking and getting out, they all started their trek through the park to reach Miller and Murphy. They followed Monty and Jasper's directions, and found the two guys standing in front of a figure sitting on a lonely bench under a street light. Their surroundings were vacant from what Bellamy could tell.

Diego immediately moved to the front of the group while they were walking, and Bellamy fell behind to the very back of the group pulling his hood up, both men working in sync. This wasn't their first rodeo. Bellamy, Lucca and Antonio stopped some ways away, in order to not be heard, while the other two continued forward.

Bellamy pulled his hood farther over his head to hide the majority of his face in the shadows. He had an identity to protect after all. Besides who would suspect the guy in the back, who looked like just another man brought along as muscle, was actually the boss and the one calling all the shots? Not many people.

Diego did enough speaking for Bellamy as his lawyer, to know exactly what the boss would say or do in each instance that he had to pretend to be him, and act accordingly. It didn't hurt that the man was intimidating as hell.

Murphy and Miller moved out of the way while Diego stopped in front of the kid and stared down at him threateningly… There was a reason his street name was the Beast. The kid was probably 17 or 18, and he looked scared out of his mind.

"Boss." Miller said in acknowledgment. It looked like he was talking to Diego, but all the guys knew he was addressing Bellamy. Bellamy could hear everything clearly through the earbud.

Bellamy spoke lowly. "What's his name?"

Diego, hearing Bellamy's command through the comm, echoed the question to the kid, "What's your name?"

"It's Jefferson." The kid said looking nervously at all the guys around him. "Jefferson Barnett."

"Get his ID." Bellamy said, prompting Murphy to step forward and ask Jefferson to hand over his wallet. He did so reluctantly. Murphy pulled the ID out and tossed the wallet back to him. He scanned it quickly and nodded his head.

"I say it looks real. Jefferson Barnett. 17 years old. Lives over on Concord Avenue." Murphy summarized casually for all to hear. He pulled his phone and snapped a picture sending it to Jasper and Monty to verify the info.

"Diego… You know what to do." Bellamy murmured.

Diego nodded. He looked to be nodding at Murphy's words, but he was really nodding at Bellamy's directive. He was still staring at the kid. "Tell me what you know Jefferson."

"I don't know a-a lot. Just the name of a couple of dealers, and that they get the stuff from some group calling themselves the Grounders. That's all." He said in a rush. There was something he wasn't saying and Bellamy could tell he was withholding information.

"Monty, what's the 411." Bellamy asked quietly. Diego started circling the kid, while Bellamy waited for Monty to give him any info he found.

"17 years old. Dead father. Lives with his mom and an aunt. Got a brother about a year younger than him. He's a junior and a good athlete. Make's A's and B's. Got good college prospects." Monty said quickly.

"Diego threaten a visit to his mom and aunt if he doesn't spill the rest of what he knows." Bellamy stated softly.

"Jefferson... I know your hiding something." Diego taunted. Jefferson started to look queasy. "Maybe I should go ask your mommy what you're hiding from me. What about your aunt? Does she know? Maybe I should go ask them both huh?" The kid looked down right sick now.

"N-no… They don't know anything. If I tell you, promise you'll leave me and my family alone?" The kid asked desperately.

"Tell me everything you know… The truth mind you… and you're free to go." Diego guaranteed.

The kid looked at him suspiciously before opening his moth and spilling his guts. "The principle at my school is either supplying the stuff or using. I say she's supplying, and using failing students as her dealers. I think this because when I was in the office the other day to sort out an attendance error, Darius Marshall left her office slipping a plastic baggie with about ten yellowish pills in his pocket. The guy is stupid as fuck." The kid cursed.

"Language." Diego barked.

The teenager jumped and yelp out a quick "Sorry!" before continuing. "I meant he's a moron. He was looking at being held back and repeating junior year… again. And now he's passing every class with a higher grade than even the smartest kid in the class. Same for all the other idiots in the school. I know for a fact he's been dealing because he offered to hook my up little brother and his friends more than once. My dad died when we were just kids, so I've pretty much raised my brother. I have plans for us to get out of here… I don't want him to end up just another statistic, lost to a gang or drugs, so I've made sure he's tough enough to say no to peer pressure. He refused every time Darius approached him, and I thank God for that every day." The kid said sighing and hanging his head.

"Why is that?" Diego asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Because one of his friends, Zachary, didn't refuse, and he got hooked. He died a couple of weeks ago… Heart attack. As much as I want to be sad about that… I just can't help but be so relieved it's not my brother that's dead. Does that make me a bad person?" He asked looking up at Diego with tears brimming in his eyes.

Diego shook his head. "No Jefferson. It makes you human." He paused before saying, "I need the name of your principle and those drug dealers."

"Her name is Lexa Roux. It's French or something. She calls herself the Commander. Why, I have no idea. The Grounders is a name my brother said Darius used. That is all I know. I swear." Jefferson finished.

Bellamy believed him this time. "Let him go." Bellamy muttered audibly.

Diego took a step back from the teenager, who stood. Diego shook hands with the younger man. "Keep your head down and your nose clean kid. This should be over within a couple of weeks."

The kid nodded before walking off with his head down. Once he was out of sight, the guys all turned to Bellamy.

"Let's go home boys." Bellamy said simply. There were no words spoken on the drive back to the club… No words were needed for Bellamy to pick up on the unspoken thoughts running through the mind of his men. They were thinking of where they would be if they had made different choices. Who would or wouldn't be alive at this very moment. Would the brother next to them, breathing the same air as them, be breathing at all if even one thing hadn't happened the way it had? Probably not, and that is what shook them to the core. Without one of them, there were none of them.

It was a sobering thought.

After everyone had unloaded and changed back into regular clothes, Bellamy issued his orders. He wanted them to coordinate some other guys to watch this Lexa chick and all her dealers, and they would meet up again Wednesday night. He told them to use the time up until then to refresh and recoup.

After that, they all slowly left to go home. He had Miller, Murphy, Lucca, Antonio, Diego, and Romeo all come up and shake his hand, giving him one armed hugs, while Monty and Jasper about knocked him to the ground with their little impromptu group hug.

After everyone left, Bellamy himself made his way home… His mind running through all the information he had gotten, and forming a nice little plan to eradicate these so called Grounders. With the way things were looking, barring any unforeseen events, Bellamy figured he could have this thing cleared up nicely by the end of the week. _Yes,_ Bellamy thought happily. _Get this cleared up, and then spend more time with Clarke._

 _As her friend of course,_ He added as an afterthought. _Just her friend._

_**XxxX** _

Monday morning came and went quickly with Bellamy back in his morning routine. Nightmare, morning run, get ready for work, eat something, and then out the door to the office. Although, a nice addition to his morning was Sterling's phone call that reported Clarke drove her brother to the airport before going home and getting ready for her shift that started at 8:30 AM. Bellamy drove his Charger to work, since he didn't have a driver. On his way into the building, Bellamy got another message from Sterling saying she had made it safely to the hospital without incident.

The doors to his private elevator hadn't even opened on his office floor before he heard the yelling. Very distinct yelling. It was the booming yell that usually accompanied his father everywhere he went.

Bellamy rolled his eyes and shoulders, resisting the urge he felt to hit the stop button and then the ground floor button, to go right back down to the lobby… Barely.

The yelling only got louder as the doors opened, revealing his father yelling at his terrified looking secretary, who was desperately trying to convey he hadn't come in yet. _Maybe she'll quit, so I won't have to eventually fire her._ Bellamy thought hopefully. After her little clothing stunt last week, she was lucky he didn't fire her right then and there, but HR liked for him to at least keep a secretary for a month before he fired her for whatever reason.

He had a rough time with secretaries the past couple of years, ever since his elderly secretary, Ethel, retired. He'd gone through more secretaries in the past two years than Hugh Hefner had ex-lovers and ex-wives combined. It drove HR crazy, but they were used to it by now, besides… He was the boss. He just hadn't found someone who was professional, kept up with his fast pace, knew what they were doing, and didn't look at him like he was a piece of meat. He didn't think it was too much to ask for, but his long list of ex-secretaries said differently.

"Mr. Blake." Roma said with utter relief in her voice. "I was just telling your father you weren't in yet." She said a bit pointedly.

"Yes Miss Lewis. I heard… I'm sure everyone in the building heard." Bellamy said a bit sourly, glowering at his father.

Damian glowered right back. Bellamy walked past them and opened his office door. He nodded for his father to come in, but just before he closed the door, he turned to Roma and told her to call Mount Sinai and have all of Adam's hospital bills covered as well as any rehab he might need.

With a click, the door closed and Bellamy turned walking to his desk. "I'm a bit busy, and I'm sure you've got other things to do today, so let's cut to the point. What can I do for you Dad?" He asked briskly.

"Watch your tone boy. I let Thursday's spat slide, but make no mistake, I'm still in charge around here." Damian said seriously.

Bellamy nodded and started up his computer while talking. "Okay Mr. Large-and-in-Charge, tell me how Finn being on drugs slipped past your sharp eye. Or perhaps, there's a reason I'm dealing with this Bronx situation, and not one of your many other capable people… Or there's the fact that I heard you're looking to marry my dolt of a half-brother off to a Boss' daughter from Marcus, instead of you. That, at the very least, is something you should have told me about, seeing as how I keep relations and do most of the business with the other Families… Probably something I should have known about the minute you decide on it, so I don't look stupid later on down the line." He finished casually while multi-tasking and answering important emails.

"Bellamy!" Damian barked.

"What?!" Bellamy said exasperatedly looking up from his computer and throwing his hands in the air. "I asked you to get to the point, but you wanted to talk about my tone of voice. I figured we were just talking about the problems we're having with each other, and I listed mine."

"Damn it Bellamy! Stop pushing my patience! It's thin enough as it is with everything going on with your brother." Damian said wearily.

"That's it!" Bellamy yelled standing up and slamming his fist on his desk making the sturdy wood shake, knocking over the pencil cup. Damian was startled to say the least. "If I have to correct. One. More. Person. I am going to lose my shit. I will get HALF-BROTHER permanently branded across the son of a bitch's forehead." Bellamy threatened.

"Really Bellamy? Isn't it little immature to be name calling." Damian said a bit amused.

"No," Bellamy stated gravely. "It's only immature if they aren't true. For instance, I'm an illegitimate child… A bastard in every sense of the word. I'm sure you've noticed my last name isn't Collins, but I've got some of your blood running through my veins. My only saving grace was being raised by my saint of a mother for the first eight years of my life. Finn on the other hand, is truly the one and only son of the world's biggest bitch… Not one redeeming quality in him."

Damian sighed. He was getting nowhere with his son, and this wasn't what he came to talk with him about. He and Bellamy often butted heads in private, or in front of Marcus. It was just their personalities. Bellamy knew to be respectful with others around, but his sharp tongue and tendency to be head strong, were who he was, and Damian loved his son for who he was. He didn't want him to change. Before he could open his mouth though, Bellamy's secretary came though on the intercom.

"Uh… Mr. Blake. A Mrs. Amelia Collins has been calling all morning. She's on line one." And with a click she was gone.

"Oh dear God!" Bellamy groaned. Why the hell weren't those the first words out of his secretary's mouth? Now, he was in a world of trouble… Great. Just great.

Bellamy took a deep breath, and picked up the phone. "Hey Nonni…" Bellamy spoke, trying to sound upbeat and not let the foreboding he was feeling, leak into his voice.

"BELLAMY ALEXANDER BLAKE!" Bellamy winced and pulled the phone away from his ear. "I have been calling and calling all morning. Why haven't you picked up young man?" His grandmother asked crossly.

"Sorry Nonni. Dad's been here since I got in, and he's been a real grump… Yelling and shouting up a storm. It's been a very upsetting ordeal." Bellamy said sadly, but gazing at his father with a devious look. This was payback for barging in, acting like he owned the place.

"Oh you poor thing. I'm sure it was. Is he still there?" She questioned, her voice softening drastically.

"Yes ma'am. He is. Do you want to talk to him?" Bellamy asked. Damian shook his head no making a slashing motion across his neck.

"I sure would _Tesero_. Put him on." She said sweetly.

Bellamy held out the phone, grinning wickedly. He mouthed a smug _Good luck_ , not really meaning it… Bellamy hoped she fried his ass.

Damian took the phone and sat down heavily on one of the chairs in front of Bellamy's desk. He did a quick sign of the cross, before answering the phone. "Hey Ma…"

And for the next ten minutes nothing but shouting was heard through the phone. It was so loud Bellamy could hear every word crystal clear. He swore his father had developed a permanent twitch from how many time he winced and flinched away from the phone.

Bellamy sat back and began going through the numbers for another project he was looking into starting. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw he had a message from Clarke. Bellamy made sure to keep his face neutral, while on the inside he was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

He swiped the message and typed in his passcode. Her message read…

_Did you know… Essentially, you can't tickle yourself? You can't really surprise your own brain. I'm pretty sure I have accidentally tickled myself before though. I am a very ticklish person… You can never use that against me, or tell anyone -_- I will deny it. –Clarke_

The massive grin that spread across his face couldn't be helped. She seemed so completely random with her thoughts, the questions that she asked, and the information that she gave so willingly. His whole demeanor changed. He didn't feel quite as annoyed or upset as he was just moments ago while arguing with his father. He felt… Lighter.

Bellamy quickly schooled his features so his father didn't notice that he was actually smiling a genuine smile… He didn't do that too often, so it was probably best not to freak the older man out and get him asking questions.

As Bellamy went to respond, he paused. He didn't know if he was ticklish at all. It was something he had never really thought about. Of course he had been as a child, but as an adult… He just didn't know. He had never let anyone get close to him like that. He thought for a minute and began typing.

_Your secret is safe with me, Princess… I promise. What prompted you to ask such a strange question? –Bellamy_

He waited a couple of minutes before he got a long response.

_Susie got discharged today, and we had a wonderful time talking before she left. Her accidentally tickling herself was a random little something she slipped in, between the discussion of unicorns and princesses. Princesses made me think of you calling me princess, so I looked it up and thought I'd share that little fact with you about not being able to tickle yourself. Except now that I think about it, I'm a firm believer in accidently tickling yourself. –Clarke_

_I will trust your judgement on the matter Doctor Princess. Your word is final. –Bellamy_

_I here by decree, accidental tickling is a thing. Bellamy, you might have to take away this new power I have… It's going to my head. –Clarke_

_Nah, your fine. Aren't you supposed to be saving lives Princess? Not talking to boring business men… –Bellamy_

_I have a break before I start my rounds. I figured I would brighten your day a bit… I'm sure your cubical gets a bit dreary, but I do have to get going. Have a good day :) –Clarke_

Bellamy swiveled his chair to look out the windows. Facing away from his father, he allowed the smile that only seemed to appear with anything Clarke-related, grace his face as he looked out at the city horizon. She thought he worked in a cubical… How wrong she was. However, she wasn't wrong about the brightening his day part, and he _would_ have a good day now… Because of her. She couldn't have been truer in her words.

Bellamy listened and heard that his father's lecture seemed to be winding down… 52 minutes after it started. Another three minutes later the phone was back to resting on the hook. Complete silence overtook he office.

"That was low." Damian said eventually.

Bellamy shrugged casually and turned the chair sideways so he could see both the city and his father. "It was me or you, and I get one at least every week or so. Sometimes more, so I chose you as the sacrificial lamb. Sorry, not sorry."

Damian chuckled. "Talk to me son. Are you okay? Marcus told me you were in the hospital the other day? Something about Jaha being behind it?"

Bellamy calmly told him about the assassination attempt, and everything that followed. Leaving everything Clarke related out of course. His father freaked, like predicted, and demanded he get more security immediately. Bellamy made it clear, he wasn't. He explained how he had a new guy being trained at that very moment… Which he did. Jones was with Antonio learning the ropes as they spoke.

Damian reluctantly agreed… They talked a bit more about giving Bellamy and his crew a break after they resolved the Bronx situation, before Bellamy had to get ready for a meeting. Damian agreed to the break and said his goodbyes, leaving his son with a firm hug and a promise to call later.

Thankfully the rest of Bellamy's day passed in a blur. He and Clarke texted back and forth throughout the rest of the day, random questions or facts they knew, prompting the other to respond. Bellamy couldn't help the small, almost indecipherable smile that appeared whenever he felt his phone vibrate, alerting him to a new message.

After work, Bellamy stopped by a take-out place and picked up food on the way to his penthouse. After putting the food in the refrigerator, he quickly dressed and headed to the gym for a work out. He only stopped when he got a message from Sterling saying she was on her way home, and then he was right back to it, taking his worry out on the punching bag. It was only when Sterling messaged him again letting him know she had made it home safe that he allowed himself to relax a bit. He headed back up and took a shower before settling on his couch with cold take-out and the history channel on T.V. He didn't get to do this too often, but he enjoyed it when he could… Enjoy the little things and all that jazz.

He began thinking of that places he wanted to take Clarke and show her the next evening, but he was coming up with way too many possibilities. He wanted to surprise her of course. She said she liked art. Suddenly the ideal place came to mind… The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

As Bellamy began planning their trip, his phone started ringing from the coffee table in front of him. His grandmother again… He had avoided her all day in the hopes that she would give up. He should have known better.

"Hey Nonni." He answered casually. "How was your tea luncheon with Gloria?" He asked pointedly.

"What tea luncheon?" His grandmother asked confused, thrown for a minute at not knowing what he was talking about.

"The one you had yesterday? After church?" He prompted. Still nothing. "The reason you couldn't make our lunch plans, and Clarke had to step in?"

"Oh yes! Strangest thing… It was cancelled." She said shortly. Cancelled his ass… More like was never happening. "Since you brought it up though… How was the date? Where did you take her? Are you going out again? Isn't it all just so wonderful?! I told you to stop looking and she would find you, and here she is!" She exclaimed excitedly. His grandmother was borderline squealing… Something he'd never heard her do before.

"Nonni… Calm down!" Bellamy chided gently. "It wasn't a date. We. Are. Just. Friends." Bellamy emphasized carefully.

The line went completely silent… Bellamy actually pulled the phone away from his ear to make sure it didn't disconnect or anything. Nope, they were still talking.

"Nonni? Are you there?" Bellamy asked a bit worriedly. It wasn't a good thing that she was so quiet.

He heard her clear her throat a couple of times. "You're… Just… Friends...?" She choked out. " _Dolce Maria, Madre di Dio (Sweet Mary, Mother of God)_ …" She whispered. Bellamy could practically see his grandmother making the sign of the cross while whispering the words. "What did you do to scare her off? _She is such a perfect and lovely girl!_ How could you have messed this up? _I had her hooked… All you had to do was reel her in!_ How could you do this to me? _You just let her slip through your fingers!_ Will I never have great grandbabies?" She ranted, rapidly switching back and forth between English and Italian.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Bellamy said quickly before she could go off again. "I didn't do anything. Promise. And I didn't 'scare' her off. We're going to hang out again tomorrow night. She's a really nice person… That's why we're friends." Okay, so Bellamy fibbed a bit. She wasn't just a 'really nice person'. She was the most fascinating, intriguing, stunning individual he'd ever met, but there was no need to egg his grandmother on.

His grandmother sighed heavily. "Well, I'll just have to pray that what they say is true, and hope that this friendship grows." She sighed again dramatically.

Bellamy opened his mouth to refute what she was saying, but he paused. "Wait, who says what?" Bellamy asked confused.

"Do you really want to know?" His grandmother teased.

"Yes." Bellamy said with a hint of impatience.

"All the best, most successful, long-lasting relationships have roots in friendship, and grow into something more." His grandmother spoke wisely.

Bellamy rolled his eyes, putting no stock in what his grandmother was saying.

"Okay, Nonni, okay." Bellamy said in a placating voice while rolling his eyes. "Just… Don't mention any of your little theories or dreams to Clarke, or anything about what I do. She doesn't know I'm a huge business owner. I don't need you being the one to scare her off by trying to play matchmaker. Oh, and by the way… Stop trying to play matchmaker Nonni!" Bellamy exclaimed. "I swear you're worse than that old guy on the eHarmony commercials."

"Oh whatever. It'll happen." She dismissed.

It was Bellamy's turn to sigh. After a few more minutes talking with her, they said their good-byes and hung up.

That night, Bellamy went to sleep dreaming of beautiful blue eyes and slept soundly until a nightmare woke him shortly before his alarm went off at seven. While he had still had a nightmare, he was grateful to have slept for the whole night… It was an unexpected development, to say the least.

Bellamy's whole day seemed to pass in slow motion. His anticipation to see Clarke growing with every hour that passed after lunch. He made sure to call the director of the museum when he got into work that morning, and set everything up for the evening. He had a very expensive membership with the museum that he didn't really use too often and donated huge sums of money every year, so the director was more than willing to accommodate Bellamy's requests. Since the museum would close at 5:30, they would have the whole place to themselves… Bellamy wouldn't have to worry about people recognizing him or taking pictures.

Bellamy got a continuous stream of messages from Sterling throughout the day, updating him on Clarke's activities as well as her whereabouts. After lunch with his grandmother at noon, she ran a few errands, and went grocery shopping for a few items.

He also got a couple of messages from Clarke herself, asking where they were going so she knew how to dress. He just told her to where something casual, and that the location was a surprise. The remaining messages were spent guessing where they were going… Each one making him smile a bit on the inside.

Finally, five o'clock rolled around, and Bellamy made a hasty exit from his office to the parking garage. He had enough time to go to is penthouse and change clothing. He changed out of his grey three-piece suit into a pair of khaki pants, and a dark blue button up, with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. He strapped a Glock to his ankle since he wouldn't have a coat or anything to cover his gun. He made sure to grab a plain black ball cap, his ray bans, and a dark hoodie before he left once again.

The drive to her apartment was quick, mostly due to Bellamy's 'all gas, no brake' driving. He was anxious and a bit nervous to see her again… To be in her presence. He mentally slapped himself for acting like a teenager.

As he pulled up, there lo and behold was his princess wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a light grey tunic tank top. She had on black flats, with a black purse-bag thing dangling at her side, and her hair was hanging in natural curls around her bare shoulders. She was leaning casually against the building, with a small smile on her face as she gazed at something on her phone.

Bellamy quickly parked his Charger across the street and slipped on his shades, while putting his hat and hoodie in the back seat. He took a quick glimpse around seeing Sterling in the SUV down the street. After a typing him a quick message to take off and be ready to come back later in the evening, Bellamy turned off his car and opened his door.

As he began to approach her, Bellamy's nervousness and anxiousness seemed to leave him with every step he took. The closer he got, the lighter he became… The weight he carried all day, every day of being either infamous Underboss or famous billionaire business man lifted right off his shoulders. With her, he was just Bellamy… Something he never thought possible, but enjoyed immensely none the less.

Then, as though she sensed him drawing near, she looked up, spotting him, and grinned brightly, stealing the breath right out of his lungs. It was like seeing the sun and feeling its warmth after being locked away in a dark, cold windowless room for weeks on end.

She closed the distance between them, her grin never wavering. "Hi… So where are we going?" She asked excitedly, almost bouncing on her toes.

Bellamy couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face if he tried. "Nuh-uh Princess. You know that's not how this goes." He said in a playful admonishing voice. "It's a surprise."

"You and your surprises… One of these days I'm going to surprise YOU, and it's going to knock your socks off." She vowed.

 _You already do,_ Bellamy thought to himself. "Whatever you say Princess, whatever you say."

Once they were both in the car, Bellamy began driving to the museum. "How was your lunch with my grandmother?" He asked in a casual tone. _It was just a conversation starter,_ he told himself. It had nothing to do with wanting to know anything and everything about what his grandmother told Clarke during their time together earlier in the day… Nothing at all.

"It was wonderful. She is so amazing and remarkable. I really enjoy talking with her. She was telling me all about the charities she's involved with, and more information about the church and the people there. She told me all about you of course…" She teased.

She meant her words to be light, but they only served to make Bellamy's stomach drop and his body to tense. His hands clenched around the steering wheel. "Oh?" He forced out calmly. "What about me?"

"She was a bit vague, but from what she was telling me, you work for this big corporation that buys and builds on land, and then you either sell or keep whatever you build… She also said something about buying other companies too. She mentioned that you're like the right hand of the boss and that he basically coined the term workaholic and usually has you working crazy late hours." She summarized.

Leave it to his grandmother to talk about him, making him out to be the poor overworked employee, when in reality he was the boss doing the overworking… He knew it was a pointed crack at his working habits.

"Uh… Yeah something like that." Bellamy said evasively. Clarke didn't seem to notice, too focused on looking out the passenger window, trying to figure out where they were.

"She's a really extraordinary person." Clarke said looking over at him. "You're extremely lucky to have her." Clarke said gently.

"Yeah, I am." He said lowly, knowing he was. "What about you? Any grandparents?" Bellamy asked quickly, changing the subject.

"My dad's parents died before I was born, and my mom's parents disowned her for marrying my dad and having me, so I've never had any grandparents. It's hard to miss something you've never had, ya know?" She questioned.

Bellamy nodded… He did know. "Close your eyes." He said quickly.

"Okay…" She said eying him suspiciously, before doing as he asked. There was a parking garage across the street of the museum on the corner, but to get to it, he had to drive right past the museum, and he didn't want Clarke to know where they were going yet. He contemplated letting her open her eyes again once they were safely in the garage, but decided against it. He parked the car, and turned it off, telling her to stay put with her eyes closed. He quickly got out and walked to her side of the car, opening her door. Clarke had already unbuckled her seat belt and had slipped her bag strap over her shoulder.

Bellamy slipped his big hands into her small delicate ones that were resting in her lap, relishing in the contact and the now familiar electric feeling that ran through his body. He helped her out of the vehicle carefully.

"Can I open my eyes now?" She asked with an adorable frown.

"Nope, not yet. Can I trust you not to peek Princess?" Bellamy asked grinning.

"I dunno. It depends… Can I trust you not to walk me into a door or something? Or walk me off a building?" She asked cheekily.

"Yes, you can trust me. 20/20 vision over here. I wouldn't let anything happen to you Princess." Bellamy vowed.

"Then you know my answer too. Okay, so no peeking… Got it." She said with a head nod.

"Hold on for one more second…" Bellamy dropped her hands and opened the backdoor, grabbing his ball cap and jacket, before closing the door and putting on the hat. He closed Clarke's door and locked the car, all while still watching Clarke out of the corner of his eyes.

"Ready to go?" Bellamy asked using his free hand to grab one of hers and tugging lightly.

"Bellamy… I am dying to know where you're taking me, so yes I'm ready! Let's go please before I explode from the excitement." She said in an exaggerated exasperated voice.

Bellamy chuckled. "Okay, come on then." Once they were on the side walk, Bellamy made sure to walk on the outside. Clarke automatically took Bellamy's arm and looped both of hers around it. It was a bit difficult, but they managed, laughing and chuckling the whole way. Clarke kept suggesting places as to where they could possibly be going, but she was always wrong.

Finally, after a short walk, they stood in front of the museum. There were a few people walking past and a couple street food vendors packing up along the side walk, but other than that, no one else was around with the museum being closed. More importantly, no one seemed to recognize him.

"Okay Princess, open your eyes." Bellamy whispered in her ear after turning her so she was facing the museum.

Her blue eyes fluttered open, and then widened. Her jaw dropped, causing her mouth to form a little 'o'. She gasped, tightening her hold on Bellamy's arm.

"Bellamy… You brought me to The Met?" She asked in a small voice.

 _Oh God… She hates it._ Way to go Blake. Bellamy mentally berated himself. Before he could do or say anything though, he found himself with a beautiful blonde in his arms, with her arms around his neck hugging him tightly while her feet dangled from the ground. Bellamy was in shock for a moment before he realized she was actually hugging him. He quickly hugged her back relishing in the feel of her, soft and warm, in his arms. Her light lavender scent teased his senses, making him want to bury his nose in her soft curls, but then, it was over, and she was back on the ground, staring at the building in awe, while Bellamy was left standing there looking at her like a dazed idiot trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Then she was looking at him with _that_ smile… The smile that made his world stop, and start all at the same time. The one that infected his very being, and made it impossible for everything to not be alright. That smile could make or break any man, no matter how strong or weak.

As they began walking up the steps, Clarke asked a bit hesitantly, "Umm… Bellamy, isn't this place supposed to be closed though?"

"Yeah, but I know some people and called in a favor or two, and well, we're in." Bellamy said with a shrug. It was really nothing for him to do.

They walked to one of the sets of doors, and Bellamy rapped his knuckles on the glass of one of the doors a couple of times. A couple seconds or so later, the click of the door being unlocked was heard, and Bellamy opened the door ushering Clarke inside. He closed the door behind him and heard the lock re-engage.

"Oh. My. God." She whispered, looking around at the grandeur of the Great Hall. "I can't believe you got us in here."

Bellamy smiled proudly. She was so happy… He didn't know how he was going to top this, and they hadn't even walked around or had dinner yet.

He took off his hat and sunglasses, and held them in his free hand, while his other hand held his hoodie. Clarke looked at him, noticing that his hands were full. She wordlessly slipped his hat and glasses out of his hand a put them in her bag at her side, before footsteps drew her attention elsewhere.

A slim older looking man with glasses appeared and approached them. "Good evening Mr. Blake. I was delighted to get your phone call earlier today." He said shaking Bellamy's hand. He had a slight British accent. The man turned to Clarke and shook her hand, while introducing himself. "Hello, my name is Thomas Camp… I am the museum director here at The Met."

"Clarke Griffin." Clarke said smiling gently at the older man.

"Well, Miss. Griffin, welcome to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the United States and one of the most visited art museums in the world." Mr. Camp listed off. Clarke was nodding along, her attention solely focused on the man. "I have arranged for one of our best tour guides to take you around if you so desire. Ryan!" He called over his shoulder. A young brown haired man appeared as if from thin air. He was of average height, green eyes, and seemed well built. Early twenties maybe.

"Hello. My name's Ryan." He said with his best pearly white smile… Directed right at Clarke. He shook hands with Bellamy, and that's the only acknowledgment Ryan gave him. The man's attention was right back on Clarke… He shook her hand as well, but before she could pull away the guy reached down a kissed the back of her hand. Bellamy glowered… He didn't like this guy. He had that douchebag, pretty boy look about him, but if Clarke wanted him to be their tour guide, he wouldn't deny her.

Because they were standing so closely, Bellamy felt Clarke's hand brush against the side of his pants as she wiped the back of her hand on her jeans. That action alone mollified him a bit. He was further placated when she didn't blush either. While she seemed polite to the man, nodding in acknowledgement of his over the top greeting and smiling a small fake smile, Bellamy got the vibe that she was wary of him as well.

"Miss Griffin, let me show you the exhibits that are the most popular with people." Ryan said motioning to the information desk. She nodded hesitantly, throwing Bellamy a quick look before slowly following him.

Bellamy went to follow as well, but was stopped by Mr. Camp. "Mr. Blake, everything is set up for dinner on the roof top garden. I also had those NDA's faxed to your office just before five. Your special request will be waiting in a white envelope on the front desk by the time you're ready to leave. Let me know if you need anything."

Bellamy nodded. "Good. Thank you, Mr. Camp." Bellamy said dismissively, watching Clarke and Ryan. Mr. Camp turned and left quietly.

Bellamy could tell Clarke was obviously uncomfortable with Ryan, and his abnormally close proximity as well as his overly flirtatious manner. She raised her eyes from the pamphlet Ryan was showing her, to lock eyes with Bellamy, silently pleading for a rescue… And rescue he would. He was across the space separating them in the blink of an eye.

Bellamy put his free hand on the small of Clarke's back as he stopped beside her, and was elated when he felt her relax at his touch. She was comforted by his presence, and although he couldn't bring himself to admit it, that meant the world to him.

"Listen Riley…" Bellamy started coldly.

"It's Ryan actually." The guy interrupted stepping away quickly, a bit thrown off at Bellamy's sudden appearance… It was like he had forgotten Bellamy was there all together.

"Whatever." Bellamy dismissed, narrowing his eye at having been interrupted. "We won't need a tour guide, so you're free to leave." Bellamy said firmly, with a full blown glare.

The guy gulped… He knew he'd fucked up. "Yes sir." He mumbled. He took another look at Clarke, as though thinking she would refute what Bellamy was saying and ask him to stay, but Clarke was too busy looking at Bellamy to see.

The younger man still lingered… His eye's cast back and forth between Clarke and Bellamy. Seeing as how pulling his gun and shooting the man would be a bit impractical, Bellamy opted for just leaning forward and saying lowly in an intimidating voice, "Beat it kid."

The guy apparently got the message, and with another gulp and head nod, he turned and walked away.

"You could seriously give someone a panic attack with a voice like that." She observed. She didn't sound scared, or freaked out. She sounded… amused, maybe? Bellamy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not like that that guy had made her feel uncomfortable… He didn't like it, not one bit. He was trying to calm down, when Clarke spoke again. "Thank goodness you got rid of him. He smelled terrible. I was drowning in his stinky cologne, and I didn't want to get kicked out of the museum for decking the guy before I really got a chance to look around. That would have sucked." She said thoughtfully.

Bellamy quickly dropped his hand and opened his eyes to see her with a serious look on her face… That adorable little crease between her eyes had made an appearance. Bellamy couldn't help the laugh that burst forward at the mental image of Clarke punching that guy in the face. She was so short and small… He didn't really think she could hurt a fly, much less a person.

"Hey… Are you laughing at me mister?" She asked sternly. "Because I'll have you know… I would have punched him if I was sure I could have gotten away with it." Her words only made Bellamy laugh harder. He only laughed like this when he was with her… He was using muscles he didn't know he had laughing as hard as he was. "You're ridiculous." She huffed before grabbing a map and starting to look it over, while Bellamy slowly calmed down from his laughing spell.

He took a deep breath, before reaching for one of her hands. He tugged on it, making her look up. "Sorry." He murmured.

"Forgiven." She sighed, with a smile that seemed to say 'what am I going to do with you?' Bellamy just grinned. "Oh come on you… I want to see as much as I can. I say we start with the Egyptian Art first and work our way around the first floor. Sound good?"

Bellamy nodded happily. She folded the map in her hand and took his arm as they began a slow lazy walk to the wing Clarke wanted to see, and that's how most of the night progressed.

They looked at all the sculptures, pottery, and artifacts in the Egyptian collection including the Temple of Denhur, before moving on to the American Wing. Darkness slowly encroached over the museum as the sun set. The fading light was seen through the glass windows that covered most of the museum, until it was gone, replace by the black ink of the night sky.

The American Wing showcased furniture, paintings, and sculptures from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Clarke especially loved the bronze Diana sculpture in the massive Charles Engelhard Court part of the wing.

While looking at the sculpture, Bellamy noticed Clarke shiver slightly. The cool temperatures of the museum had gotten to her. "Cold, Princess?" Bellamy asked curiously.

"Hmmm…" She tore her eyes from the piece of art to look up at him. "Oh. Uh… Yeah, I guess I am." She said blushing a little.

Bellamy grinned a little. "Here…" He let her go, and took the hoodie he still had with him, and slipped it over her shoulders. He watched as she slipped her arms in the sleeves and pulled her hair out, zipping it up half way. Bellamy didn't think it was possible, but she looked even more enchanting wrapped up in his oversized article of clothing.

"Thanks." She said sweetly.

Bellamy noticed Clarke had an affinity for the paintings and drawings in the American wing. She seemed to have endless facts about the artists, or the art work itself, stored in her mind, while Bellamy often gave facts about the artifacts and time periods they were from.

"This is a painting that Mary Cassatt did of her older sister, Lydia. She painted it in 1880, when she and her family were vacationing that summer in Marly-le-Roi. It's a little commune ten miles outside of Paris, I believe." Clarke recited from memory. They were looking at the painting entitled 'Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly' by Mary Cassatt. Not once did Clarke look down at the information given… She was focused on the art.

They continued walking and talking, enjoying being with the each other. Clarke helped Bellamy see things in the artwork he had never cared to discover, or had the patience to. She had such an intriguing view of each piece, and Bellamy loved getting to glimpse at it through her eyes. Bellamy enjoyed talking to someone genuinely interested in what he was saying about the history of the pieces, and the importance they had in the time period that they came from. She asked him questions, and made clever comments that in turn made Bellamy think. She challenged him, as he did in return. Once they had made it through the Medieval Art, Arms and Armor, and Robert Lehman Collection, Bellamy steered them toward the elevators. Clarke continued talking, not really noticing where they were going, or what they were doing. Once in the elevator, Bellamy hit the fifth floor button.

"Bellamy… Where in the world are we going now?" Clarke asked. "We at least have to go through the Greek and Roman Art before it gets too late, and we have to leave."

Bellamy just smiled. He had another surprise for her at the end of their tour, that he knew was going to drive her crazy… In a good way of course. Perhaps it would get him another hug.

With a ding, the elevator doors swooshed open to the top floor gardens. "Oh, wow." Clarke said softly. "That view though." She said gazing past the park that surrounded the building, to the tall lit up skyscrapers in the distance. "This is amazing."

Bellamy turned and tugged her forward gently, walking backwards. "Come on. Don't let the pretty lights distract you… We've got a mission." Bellamy teased. _Besides,_ he thought, _they have nothing on the blonde vision standing in front of me._

"A mission? What are you going on about now Blake?" She asked with mock exasperation, rolling her eyes… The twinkle in her eye gave away her happiness though. As they walked around a hedge, a table set up for a nice dinner was revealed.

"Dinner, your highness." Bellamy said with a mock bow. Clarke giggled.

"I don't think you realize just how ridiculous you look doing that." She said still giggling, the sound melodious to Bellamy's ears.

"Whatever you say Princess." Bellamy said grinning.

As they walked over, Bellamy pulled Clarke's chair out for her, and let her sit. She slipped her bag off her shoulder and onto the back of her chair, but kept his hoodie on… He wasn't complaining. Bellamy sat down across from her as a waiter appeared at their table.

"Good evening Sir, Miss. What can I get you to drink this evening?" The waiter asked, ready to write the information down.

Bellamy looked at Clarke, "Is wine okay?" He asked.

She nodded, smiling. "Wine is fine, and a glass of water too please."

"Two glasses of wine… Red. And two glasses of water." Bellamy directed as the man set two menus down on the table.

"Yes Sir. Very good sir." Another head nod, and he was off to get their drinks.

Clarke quickly looked the menu over, before setting it down, right as Bellamy did the same.

"What are you getting Princess?" Bellamy asked curiously.

"The Ricotta Cavatelli… You?"

"The same actually… It's really good." Bellamy promised.

The waiter came back a minute or so later carrying their drinks. He took their orders, and promised to have it out shortly before retreating… His gaze didn't linger, he didn't flirt, and most importantly, he didn't hover. _Finally,_ Bellamy thought as the man disappeared, _someone who knows how to do their freaking job!_

Clarke was back to looking at the skyline. "I hope you didn't do something, like sell your soul, to get us in here…" She said turning to look at him.

"Nah… Nothing of the sort." Bellamy said. He didn't add that he had no soul, so it was impossible to sell something you didn't have. It still amazed him she didn't know who he was. She must have had some inkling… "So you still haven't looked me up yet to see who I am?" Bellamy asked curiously.

"Why would I?" She asked simply. "I know who you are. You're Bellamy Blake... You have an extraordinary grandmother who loves you to pieces, and even though I've only met them once, I'd say you have some pretty awesome, crazy friends who would do anything for you. You bought a restaurant and restored it in honor of your grandparents and mother, who would be so unbelievably proud of you if they could see it. You're a pretty important businessman if I had to guess, seeing as how you had a bodyguard, and someone who wanted to hurt you or try to scare you, and yet you didn't quit your job, because you won't let that person scare you, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to let your boss down because from what I've heard he relies on you more than anyone. From what I know and what I've seen, you're a good person Bellamy Blake." She finished softly.

Bellamy was stunned. No one had ever described him like that… It terms of the people in his life. He usually was defined by his wealth, good looks, or relationship status as a permanent bachelor. "How do you know?" Bellamy asked, too weak willed to restrain himself.

"Because I can just tell… I'm a good people reader. Besides, if you weren't, you wouldn't have those people in your life." She said grinning.

He wanted to tell her he wasn't a good person, far from it actually, and she should stay as far away from him as possible, but couldn't bring himself to. He liked who he was with her, but more than that, he liked the person she thought he was, and he didn't want to destroy that image. He liked just being a part of her world. He would just have to take her word for it. "So tell me Princess… How do you know so much about art?" He asked changing the subject. He'd wanted to know this since they had started walking around earlier in the evening.

"How do you know all your history facts?" She questioned, looking at him with those flawless blue eyes that twinkled in the dim lighting of the garden. "It's your passion… But whereas your passion is history, mine is art."

"Do you compose then?" He asked.

She nodded. "In another life, I would have been an artist." She said wistfully, almost sadly.

"Well why not in this life?" Bellamy questioned. Artist to doctor was a pretty big leap.

"My mom." Clarke said simply. "She's a doctor, so when I was about 13 or so, and showed I was gifted in the healing arts, she ran with the idea of having a doctor daughter following in her footsteps. She had my future career planned all the way up to the day I retired after 15 years of being chief of surgery at Johns Hopkins." She said ruefully. "She felt my art was childish and unrealistic, and hated that I loved it so much. I finally quit telling her or showing her what I was working on, so she would quit lecturing me on how it was a 'waste of time and trees'."

She didn't sound bitter… That's what really caught his attention. Any ordinary person would be bitter or resentful at being told such things… Especially hearing them from a parent, but not his princess. No, she just had a quite acceptance about her, and flickers of hurt that laced her voice on some words. _She's not ordinary though jack-ass, she's extraordinary. We've established this!_ His conscience scolded him.

"Damn…" Bellamy whispered. What kind of parent did that to their child? A shitty one, that's what.

"Don't get me wrong…" Clarke said quickly. "I love what I do. It is such a great feeling when I save a life, or help someone injured, but I just wish I'd had a choice."

"What do you mean?" Bellamy asked a bit confused.

"Well when I got to college, I wanted to get a minor in Art. I didn't plan to use it, but I just wanted to learn more about it… Techniques, styles, etcetera. My mom found out and flipped. She threatened to disown me, saying no daughter of hers would 'throw away God-given talent to become a lowly penny street artist'. I tried telling her it was just a minor, and wouldn't interfere with my other pre-med studies, but she just wouldn't hear of it. My whole family was being torn apart by me it seemed. My brother firmly sided with me, but my dad was distraught about the whole thing. He didn't know what to do… He loved me, and wanted me to do what I wanted and what made me happy, but at the same time he didn't want to go against my mom. Everyone was either arguing all the time, or giving the cold shoulder. Finally, I just gave up. My mom wasn't going to budge, and I didn't want them to continue fighting about me anymore. I went to school, got my M.D. and moved as fast and as far as I could when the opportunity presented itself, to get away from my mom and her big plans. She wasn't happy I didn't stick to her perfect model, but I just didn't care anymore. I wanted to be me. I still draw or paint when I can though, but only as a hobby." She finished.

This girl… This incredibly selfless, amazing girl… gave up her dream for the sake of her family. He had no words for how incredible he found her story, so he just asked the first thing that came to his mind. "Was this past weekend the first time your brother visited you?"

She shook her head. "No, he's come to see me numerous times before, not including helping me move. It's always just sort of been me and him against the world, ya know? It's been hard for us to both not see each other every day like when we were growing up… Some days we don't even get to talk on the phone because of the time difference and crazy schedules. He's thinking of moving here for half the year to be closer to me, and opening one of his art galleries here in New York. Then living the other half of the year at home." She said with a smile on her face. He could tell she was excited about her older brother living in the same city and being able to see him more. Bellamy was happy she had opened up to him, still a practical stranger, like she had… He had a feeling she didn't do that too often.

"I'm sorry for dumping all of that on you like that." She said sheepishly. "I've actually never told anyone about that… I guess I feel like I can trust you." Her head tilted to the side a bit as she said the last sentence.

Bellamy's stomach did that weird flip-flop thing again. She trusted him enough to tell him a bit about her past, the same way he trusted her when he told her the little bit about his grandparents and mother dying. He smiled, "You can." He promised.

The waiter appeared with two plates of food and set them down in front of the couple, with a, "Enjoy. Let me know if you need anything." Before leaving once again.

They both began eating, enjoying the view and the company. They asked more basic questions back and forth. Bellamy learned she loved to cook and bake, hated doing laundry, loved her music more than anything, didn't like to drive, preferring to walk, had a list of places that she wanted to visit in Europe, and then a New York City list too.

Bellamy told her how he hated cooking, but could manage the basics. He didn't mind doing laundry, or the dishes, but grocery shopping was a big fat no. He didn't mention he had a lovely middle-aged lady named Edith, who came once a week on Wednesdays, to clean his apartment, restock his kitchen, and take any clothes he needed to the dry cleaner. He told her about some of the places he'd visited both inside the country and outside of it. He took a mental note of all the places she said she wanted to visit, hoping to be able to take her there one day.

After they had finished eating, they both declined dessert, and ended up wondering to the railing, gazing at the park and the city beyond it. "Thank you for bringing me here." She said softly.

"You're more than welcome." Bellamy murmured back. "I have a question."

"Okay, shoot." She said turning her head to the side, and looking up at him.

"You said you still draw… Can I see some of your work?" He asked a bit hesitantly, worrying he was crossing some kind of invisible boundary for her or invading her personal space. Some people were touchy about showing their work to others, but he could see clearly her art was a huge part of her, and he desperately wanted to know everything about her.

She froze for a minute, and searched his eyes… for what, Bellamy didn't know, but she seemed to like what she found.

"Yeah… I'll show you some of my work sometime." She said shyly. "I never really show my work to people other than my dad and brother… Well my mom when I was younger, but like I said, I quit doing that."

Bellamy nodded. He was just happy she agreed. After a while, they left, going back down to the first floor. They walked through the Greek and Roman Art exhibit and had a wonderful time looking at the pieces. There were old gold jewelry sets, marble sarcophaguses, and various statues of all shapes, sizes, and material. Clarke loved the terracotta jars and vases that had paintings on them. Bellamy told her the story or myth behind each scene or person painted. It was getting late, so they decided to leave… The last piece they looked at was a terracotta water jar depicting the scene of Persephone's abduction.

As they were exiting the museum, Bellamy stopped them at the front desk in the Great Hall. There was an envelope on the desk just as Mr. Camp said. Bellamy slipped it into his pocket, and they left. The air outside had cooled considerably, causing Clarke to shiver. Bellamy watched as she tugged his hoodie tighter around her small frame. As they began walking to the parking garage, with their arms looped together and Clarkes head resting on his arm, she started asking him questions.

"Are you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?" She said randomly.

"Hmm… I guess I'm a pessimist." Bellamy said. Is something bad could happen, it usually did, was his way of thinking.

"I'd say I'm a bit of both… What's the worst lie you ever told?"

"Oh jeez… I don't think it was a lie per se, but when I was about ten maybe, I broke one of my grandmother's vases. I was in her formal living room, somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, looking for something my army troops could shoot at, and knocked a crystal vase over. My grandmother was out back gardening, so she didn't hear it break… More like shatter really." Bellamy mused, lost in a memory of what seemed like a life time ago… Back when he was truly still just a child. "I cleaned it up as fast as I could, and dumped the evidence in the trash. Grabbed another vase, and put it where the broken one used to be. I figured she wouldn't notice; I mean all vases looked the same to a ten-year-old." Bellamy said wryly, making Clarke laugh. "Went out front and grabbed a garden gnome to be my bad guy, and went back to playing."

"Did you get caught?" Clarke asked amused by Bellamy's ten-year-old antics.

"Oh hell yeah. Not ten seconds after she walk into that room, I hear her hollering my name… 'Bellamy Alexander Blake'!" He imitated his grandmother with a whisper yell. "I got a _two-_ hour lecture for being in the room in the first place and trying to cover the whole thing up, then milk and cookies after for being inventive with the gnome and cleaning the mess up." Bellamy said grinning.

Clarke broke down giggling. "Oh goodness… I bet you were a hand full as a kid."

"I wasn't too terrible, but I definitely had my moments." Bellamy said smiling, as they came upon the car. Bellamy opened Clarke's door for her and let her get in before closing it and going around to get into the driver's seat.

"Okay, my turn…" Bellamy said, as he reversed out of the parking spot and left the garage. "What is your most treasured possession?"

"Umm… It would have to be my journal. I don't really write or anything, it's just drawings of memories, important things that happen, or feelings, but they paint a story… My story." She said shrugging. She valued memories over materialistic things like a necklace or a ring. If that didn't speak for her character, he didn't know what would.

 _Man, what I wouldn't give to get my hands on that book. I wonder if I'm in it… I hope I'm in it._ Bellamy thought absentmindedly.

"What about you?" She asked.

Well, his most valued possession was a tie between his Eagle from Jake and a picture of him and his mother. He didn't mention the gun, figuring that would freak her out. "I have this picture of me and my mom when I was about six or so, tucked away in her old Bible in my home office." Bellamy noticed her nod out of the corner of his eye.

"That is a pretty special thing to have. What do you do in your free time?" She asked changing the subject, something which Bellamy was very grateful for.

"Work. Read. Hang out with the guys and whatever their doing." Bellamy listed. "Take you out on a tour of New York City." He said grinning at her. She smiled back.

The rest of the car ride was spent discussing when they could go on another outing. Clarke said she was fine to go out on Friday after her all-nighter, but Bellamy was firm when he said he wanted her to catch up on her sleep. She pouted a bit, but relented and settled for Saturday when he asked nicely. Who knew 'please' was such a powerful word? Not Bellamy. He silently vowed to use its power more often with his grandmother and with Clarke… It would surely go a long way when dealing with these stubborn women.

They pulled up to Clarke's apartment around 12:45 in the morning. Bellamy helped Clarke out of the car noticing she left his hat, glasses and hoodie behind on the seat. They stopped right outside the door leading inside.

"Thank you Bellamy. I had such wonderful time… I can't wait 'til we go back and explore the rest of the museum." She said absentmindedly as she searched for her keys. Bellamy's heart leaped in his chest hearing that she wanted him with her when she explored the rest of the museum… She was making future plans that included him, and it made him happier than words could express.

She finally found her keys and pulled them out holding them in her hand.

"I've got one last surprise for you Princess…" Bellamy said grinning.

"There's more?" She asked shocked, maybe a bit worriedly.

Bellamy nodded pulling the envelope out of his pocket and handing it to her. She took it hesitantly, as though it would bite her.

"Go on… Open it." Bellamy encouraged.

She carefully opened the envelope pulling the card inside out… The membership card.

"Holy cow… You got me a membership?!" She asked looking up from the card in her hand.

Bellamy nodded. He got her the same membership he had, which was the best naturally. She now had unrestricted access to anything and everything at the museum.

"I can't accept this… It's too much." She said shaking her head, trying to hand the card back. _Like I wasn't expecting that._ Bellamy thought sarcastically to himself. He totally did though.

"Please?" He asked quietly, trying out his new word. He widened his eyes a bit, and put on his best eager-hopeful expression. It was hard, because he didn't really know if he had an eager-hopeful expression… He'd never had to use it before.

She looked at him for a second before nodding her head in acceptance. _Hot damn, it worked again!_ He thought gleefully about the word.

"Okay. Thank you." She said with a smile on her face that grew bigger seeing Bellamy's happiness at her accepting his gift.

Bellamy was happy to find that his surprise did get him another hug, and he wasn't so shocked this time that he actually got to hug her back… and a little hair sniff too. As she pulled away, she kissed his cheek.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" She asked hesitantly. When he nodded, she gave him one last smile before saying softly, "Good night Bellamy."

"Good night, Princess." He whispered as she disappeared into the building, turning to look over her shoulder at him once more before ascending the stairs. The warmth he felt from her smile lingered before disappearing, leaving him yearning for her presence once again.

Bellamy left soon after, once he let Sterling know where she was and that he was back on duty, heading to his penthouse. The faint scent of lavender seemed to linger in the car with him on the drive, and in the elevator on his way upstairs. Once he was in his bedroom, he realized it was his hoodie… It smelled like her.

That night he went to sleep easily with her comforting smell still clinging to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So enter Lexa... Hmm, I wonder what's gonna happen? Any theories or thoughts out there, cuz I'd love to hear 'em! What about Damian getting his butt chewed out by Nonni? Nonni is trying to get Bellamy and Clarke together... Lord help her, she's trying like crazy ;) What about the trip to the Met and the background info Clarke gave us? I love hearing from you all, and I know you won't disappoint.  
> -Redhead17x
> 
> PS- Just a few notes... Writers license is being flashed and waved around in regards to the drug, Whiperia... It's not real, I made it up from my overactive imagination to use it in this story. If someone tried to sell it to you... RUN, cuz it doesn't exist, and you'll quite possibly die if you take whatever they give you. #DRUGSARESTUPID #DONTDOTHEM #EVER
> 
> Number two, those gangs (the Bloods, Crypts, and Hoovers) are REAL gangs in NYC. I wouldn't go looking for them. Again, RUN if someone approaches you throwing these names out there, except, remember your running because these are real gangs, and potentially quite harmful and could kill you. Also, the actual name of the Met museum director is Thomas Campbell.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER will be Bellamy and the crew wrapping up the Bronx drug situation, and Bellamy making a late night visit to the hospital... I wonder why? 0_o


	12. A June Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys... Today has been crazy! It was my dad's birthday today, so I was split between packing up to head back to college on Sunday, and spending time with him and my family. Here's chapter 12... Make sure to read the AN at the end, because it's got some important info...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 12- A June Christmas**

Wednesday passed quickly. Bellamy and Clarke talked on and off throughout the day about what each of them were doing, having for lunch, etc., but stopped when she got called in to the hospital at seven in the evening for an emergency surgery. According to Sterling, she was in a rush… He swore she drove her car like a NASCAR driver competing in the Daytona 500. He was barely able to keep up

Jones was officially added on as his bodyguard, and they seemed to work well together. Bellamy had left the office at six, and spent a couple hours at his place before going to the club. He was currently waiting in his office for all the guys to show up so they could get a plan together to deal with this drug dealing principle and see what kind of operation she was running. If things looked promising, they could hopefully move and get the whole ordeal over that night.

Mostly everyone showed by nine, and they all went to The House. They were just missing Murphy and Diego, who had an errand to run.

“Talk to me.” Bellamy said as everyone took their places surrounding him on the large couch, or floor.

“Demetri was able to confirm Lexa Roux is the ring leader of these so called Grounders, and they’re operating out of a really small abandoned office building in Hunts Point, near the rehab projects.” Romeo said, perched on the arm of the couch to Bellamy’s left. Bellamy nodded… Okay, so they had the location of their base of operations.

Miller was next to speak up from Bellamy’s right. “From what we can tell, she has all her dealers meet every day to pay their tribute and get more product. The thing is though, the timing of the meeting changes day-to-day.” He said leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Yeah.” Monty nodded from the floor leaning against the coffee table. “We know they’re always at night or in the early morning hours, and always at their home base. Monday’s check in was at 4 A.M. Tuesday’s check-in was at 1 A.M., and today’s check in hasn’t happened yet.”

“I’m still waiting on a call from Ryker, who is staked out across from the building, to see when tonight’s is.” Antonio said standing behind the couch in between Lucca and Romeo.

“Our boy, Jefferson, from Sunday, was right about her using the failing students to push the stuff. F’s are going to A’s all across the board. Eight kids who weren’t looking at graduating earlier this year in her school are now going to graduate with honors. This has been going on for a hell of a lot longer than we thought… Months maybe. She was able to keep it on the down low somehow.” Lucca said reclining to Bellamy’s left.

Jasper was last to speak up sitting on a pillow on the floor. “I think she’s looking at expanding business south.” Jasper said, shocking the room.

“Why is that Jasper?” Bellamy asked intrigued.

“I hacked all her computers, emails and stuff, both personal and work. She was looking at buying and renting warehouses in Queens along the East River on Google the other day… Some of them were even ones you own Cap.” Jasper shrugged. “If that kid Jefferson hadn’t told us her name, I’m telling you, we would have spent weeks trying to figure out it was her behind everything. She has a perfect public persona really. Lovely stay at home wife of three years, named Costia, a yellow lab named Mars, perfect house with a white picket fence over in Concourse, perfect job and work record… The whole shebang.” Jasper summarized.

Bellamy filed the information away for later as Murphy and Diego came barging into the room carrying armfuls of papers and blueprints. Murphy singing loudly, “The fun has arrrivveedd!!!”

Bellamy rolled his eyes, as Jasper scoffed loudly saying “What-the-hell-ever dude… I’m the funny one around here. You ain’t got nothin’ on me…” He punctuated the sentence with a cocky shoulder brush-off, so unlike his usually awkward Jasper… He pulled it off though.

“Whatever you tell yourself to help you sleep at night.” Murphy called over his shoulder as he and Diego start laying the papers out on the pool table.

Bellamy stood and walked around the couch to get to the pool table. Everyone followed, with Jasper and Monty leaping over the back of the couch. Jasper of course tripped, his long lanky limbs going everywhere, but somehow managed to miss face planting straight onto the floor, while Monty landed gracefully like a cat. THAT was more like his clumsy Jasper.

“Took an hour and quite possibly my first born child, but I managed to get the building specs.” Murphy said as everyone gathered around the make-shift table. Diego cleared his throat and glowered at Murphy. “I mean we… We managed to get the building specs.” Murphy amended making Diego nod, satisfied.

“Okay, Maddox says they are using the third floor. There are a total of five floors.” Diego said pulling the building blue prints. “Maddox counted about 30-35 people max, inside at one of their meetings.”

Murphy pulled the floor layout. “The building is pretty dilapidated and outdated. No real escape routes… Fire escape on the back of the building is a death trap, and the buildings on either side are locked up tight. No entry from the roof, so they can only get out from the first floor main door or windows, but I wouldn’t bet on anyone being able to walk from a third story jump.” Murphy said showing various blueprints. “The thing about all of this is… There is only one point of entry, which is the front main door, so it’s all pretty easy to control our entrance and exit as well as theirs.”

Miller, who was looking at the pictures of the building, said, “It looks structurally sound. Old brick and wood mostly. Would probably light up like a match if you’re thinking about arson Boss.”

“Actually,” Bellamy said as he braced himself on the pool table with both of his hands, looking at all the information laid out before him, “I’m thinking we’re going to be upstanding citizens on this one, boys. Let the cops earn their keep, if you get what I’m saying. Miller… How’s your dad these days?” Bellamy asked looking up.

“Looking to make detective.” Miller said. “A bust like this would go a long way to help out…” He trailed off.

Bellamy nodded. That’s what he wanted to hear. “Diego… What do we need to make this stick?”

“Not a lot. Other than her confessing to masterminding the whole thing, which I’d doubt she’d do, I say everything is pretty much cut and dry…” He rumbled looking at everything on the table.

“Okay…” Bellamy paused, thinking. “This is the plan…” Before he could continue speaking, Antonio’s phone rang.

He answered it quickly, nodding along, saying a few ‘yes’s’ and ‘goods’ before hanging up.

“The meeting is happening now.” He said to Bellamy.

Bellamy looked at the clock… 10 P.M.

“We’re obviously not going tonight. We need to plan, and we’re gonna need more men. The plan is going to be we go in, and wrap every last one of those bastards up nice and pretty for Miller’s dad, including queen bitch, and get the hell outta there before the cops show up and bust _us_.” Bellamy said looking at each of his guys. For the next three hours, Bellamy explained his plan thoroughly, down to the very last detail.

Right before Bellamy dismissed them, Antonio asked, “Which guys are we using?”

“No one my Dad or Finn brought in, I don’t trust that they’re trained right. I want soldiers… No associates. If they’re not made, they’re not in.” Bellamy said. He could practically see Antonio making a list of people.

“What about Nonni?” Jasper asked. “You have dinner with her tomorrow right?”

“Yeah… I’ll be out of there by eight, and here by nine. I want everyone dressed in black cargo pants, T-shirts, hoodies, and boots. Black leather gloves and ski-masks. Antonio, make that clear when you call the other guys… Anyone who disobeys will be punished severely.” Bellamy decreed. “I want them all informed of the plan by the time I get there tomorrow night.” All the boys nodded.

“Antonio… Has there been any movement on that meeting spot Uriel was supposed to be at to sell those diamonds?” Bellamy asked.

“No, nothing.” Antonio said with a shake of his head.

Bellamy sighed, resigned. “Okay, take the guys who have been watching the spot off the job. We’ll leave it alone and hope Jaha makes another mistake.”

After that, everyone left to go home and sleep which is what Bellamy did too. When he got to his penthouse, he got a message from Sterling shortly before passing out, saying Clarke had just got home from the hospital.

**_XxxX_ **

Thursday passes slowly it seemed. He was anticipating what was going to go down that night in the Bronx, and sitting at a desk doing paperwork was annoying him. His only saving grace was texting Clarke, something he had come to extremely enjoy. She took his mind off everything.

She told him about what working the graveyard shift was like… The word exhausting was thrown around quite a bit. She told him about this coffee cart she loved, but couldn’t really get to because it was all the way in the lobby while she was in a completely different part of the hospital on the pediatric floor. It took so long to get there and get it ordered, that by the time she actually got the drink, she had to rush back, and didn’t quite enjoy it as much, so she was usually stuck with the crappy coffee in the doctor’s lounge.

That got them talking about how they each drank their coffee. Bellamy told her how he likes his plain and strong, and found it amusing that she preferred a lot of sugar and creamer in her strong coffee…. ‘I like coffee with my sugar and creamer.’ she wrote.

After work, he and Jones headed straight to his grandmother’s house, making it on time. She was absolutely gushing about Clarke… For the whole evening. Clarke this, and Clarke that… Bellamy had never really seen her act anything like it. It was easy to tell she absolutely adored the young woman, and Bellamy found it hard not to join in, and tell her everything he had learned about her. He resisted, but only barely. His grandmother was so happy, she didn’t mention her hopes of Clarke and Bellamy being more than friends, not once. They had set plans after they had finished lunch on Tuesday, to go out for lunch again on Sunday after church, which got Bellamy to thinking about breaking his church once a month rule… Something he would ponder on later. He left her house right on schedule at eight.

Jones drove him to his penthouse, and Bellamy dismissed him for the evening. He quickly ran upstairs and grabbed his two already packed duffle bags before heading down to the parking garage once more. He threw both bags in the backseat of his Hummer, and left. He took his time getting to the club, parking around back at the garage. There were several cars all parked around.

He grabbed his two bags out of the back seat and walked into the closed up garage through the side door. As the door slammed shut behind him, about 25 faces turned to stare at him from all corners and edges of the room, before quickly looking back to the middle of the room.

Bellamy smirked looking upon the scene before him. His eight main guys were all in the middle of the garage, standing around a long metal table. Monty and Jasper were at one end, fiddling with some gadget, passing it back and forth with screwdrivers in their hands. The other six guys were discussing the plan and the contingencies, in case things went wrong, amongst themselves while loading weapons. As he was watching, Antonio, who was talking to Miller, turned and whistled throwing the clip he had just loaded to Murphy who was talking to Diego. Murphy caught the clip while still talking, not even looking up, then smoothly glided the clip into the Glock in his hand, pulled the slide lock back and letting it go, loading a bullet into the chamber. He pointed the weapon up, aiming at some invisible target on the ceiling. His movements were graceful and practiced… They spoke of many years’ worth of experience handling weapons.

He lowered the weapon, checking that the safety was on, before stowing it at his back. He turned to Antonio and said a quick, “Nice.” Before resuming his talks with Diego.

“Holy shit.” He heard one guy whisper to his buddy, awestruck. “Did you see that?”

“Yeah bruh… What I wouldn’t give to be in this crew. They’re fierce as fuck.” His buddy responded with wonderment lacing his voice. “There is a reason they’re the best of the best, and this is it.”

While it may have looked like his guys were putting on a show for their audience, Bellamy knew this was just his guys in their natural habitat, acting as if there weren’t 25 men gawking at them with open reverence. No one ever really got a chance to see Bellamy’s crew interact or work, because they preferred to work only within the confines of their group, so it was a real treat for the 25 men to witness the scene unfolding before them. Spotlights and outsiders weren’t ideal working conditions, but in this case, it was a necessary evil. His guys always tended to toss things back and forth to each other, whether it was clips, guns, tools, cleaners, etc. Back when they first got started, they tossed loaded weapons around too, but after Lucca almost shot Diego, Bellamy quickly stopped them from doing that. One would think he shouldn’t have had to tell them that, but he did.

Bellamy walked forward until he was at the open end of the table. He received various greetings, while setting the special duffle bag on the table. He told Romeo to follow him, while he took the other duffle with him. They went upstairs to Bellamy’s office where Bellamy gave Romeo orders for a special mission, before sending him off. Bellamy quickly changed clothes and shoes that were stashed in the duffle bag, before heading back down. Once back downstairs, he sat down in his chair and laced up his boots. Before he did anything else though, Bellamy texted Sterling for an update on his princess.

_@ hospital. Shift started around eight. Settled in position to monitor her. Will update if needed. -S_

Knowing where she was made it easier to focus… He switched his phone to silent and bowed his head. _Deal with this shit, and spend more time with Clarke._ He chanted over and over in his head. Once he centered himself and he was in the right frame of mind, he stood. He grabbed three Glocks from the long metal table where his guys had loaded them for him, putting two in his shoulder holster and one in the back of his waistband. He didn’t want to bring his Eagle, because it could set him apart from everyone else, and identify him.

“Boys.” He called. Bellamy watched as his guys wrapped up what they were doing, and turned to face him.

“Have they been informed of the plan?” He asked Antonio making a circular motion with his finger indicating the guys lining the walls.

Antonio nodded solemnly.

“Good. Okay, I want everyone to move over there.” Bellamy said motioning for the men to move to one side of the garage. His main guys stood front and center still… They knew their boss was talking about the other guys. Once everyone was where he wanted them, he began speaking. “I want a team of four watching the back exit, fire escape, and ally way. Lucca is to lead that team… Take your pick.” Bellamy said making a sweeping motion with his arm toward the guys on the other side of the garage.

Lucca pointed out the guys he wanted and motioned for his four guys to step forward, Bellamy nodded. “Come forward.” He directed. Once they were lined up in front of him, Bellamy checked that they were dressed right, and had nothing that could identify them, such as rings, necklaces, tattoos, etc., visible. Once he was sure they were clean, he motioned for Jasper to come forward.

He gave out earbuds, with a bored. “They shouldn’t shock you, but there is a possibility… They’re new, so don’t go swimming or get electrocuted or anything, and you should be fine.” Before walking back over to Monty.

The four guys all looked dubious and looked to Bellamy as if to say, ‘Is this guy serious?’ Bellamy just shrugged and motioned for them to stand together off to the side.

“Antonio… Pick three guys to watch the front entrance after we go in.” Bellamy said. Antonio quickly picked three guys, and they too stepped forward for inspection and to get ear buds, like the group before them. Bellamy motioned for them to stand in a corner near Lucca’s group.

“The rest of you are with me.” He said to the remaining guys. Bellamy began a casual leisurely pace across the floor.

“You all know the mission, intel and the plan.” Bellamy said crossing his arms over his chest as he walked, speaking to the room. “Lucca’s team will be waiting around the corner of the ally for the text to say the meeting has started. They will get into position quickly and without people seeing them.” He said nodding to Lucca’s group. “Me and my guys will be going in ten minutes after the meeting starts, and Antonio and his three guys…” He again nodded to where Antonio and his guys were standing. “Will be staying behind to watch the entrance. I want everyone wearing ski masks to cover your face and gloves on at all times… No exceptions. No one is to speak unless there is a literal life or death situation… I don’t want any of these people to be able to identify anyone of you in anyway. Is that clear?” Bellamy said loudly and gruffly, like a drill sergeant.

He got a loud, collective, “Yes sir.”

“Good.” Bellamy nodded. “Lucca, Antonio… If someone tries to escape, or make a run for it, you and your people shoot to maim.” He said to both of the smaller groups. “Go load up. Lucca, you can leave right away.” Bellamy directed.

Lucca and Antonio nodded with a, “Yes Boss.” And with that, both groups were out the door.

“Alright…” Bellamy murmured to himself, looking at the remaining men. “We’re going to have a bit of fun boys, and hopefully make the morning news.” Bellamy said loudly, smirking at the expectant, excited looks on everyone’s faces.

After Bellamy checked everyone over to make sure they were good to go, Monty started handing out earbuds while Jasper showed everyone the duffle bag full of Flex cuffs they would be carrying. “If anyone loses or breaks their comm earbud, I swear I will hunt you down and shoot you in the ass.” Monty said glaring at everyone. Bellamy had to gather the tech equipment he would be using such as the small tape recorder and special voice modulator Monty and Jasper made specifically for him that went around his neck.

After everything was set, they loaded up and left taking four Escalades plus the Escalade Antonio and his three guys were in. Their convoy parked around the block of the office building. All that was left to do was wait. Monty and Jasper did their checks during the drive, and during the first hour while they waited, due to their being so many more people. As soon as they parked, Bellamy put on the voice modulator that would be covered by his blue ski mask. Everyone else was wearing standard black masks, but Bellamy wore blue so people knew where the boss was and such. He also called Romeo to make sure he was in place.

Finally, around 2 A.M., Ryker, who was on duty again that night, sent out a text letting everyone know the meet was going down. Bellamy messaged Lucca telling him to go and secure the back of the building, while he started the count down. At the eight-minute mark Bellamy started the car and began driving. They pulled up in front of the building right on the ten-minute mark.

Everyone piled out of the vehicles, and quietly stormed the building. Bellamy had five different guys who automatically took up positions in front of him as they ascended the stairs, knowing they needed to protect the boss at all costs, including their lives if necessary. When they reached the top landing of the third floor stairwell, one of his guys opened the door leading to the level, and everyone surged forward flooding the small office space rapidly with guns drawn. There were several tables all around covered in drugs, money, or equipment to make the drugs.

There were shouts of surprise from some of the younger people while some of the older men tried to fight back. While Bellamy’s men were slightly outnumbered, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in surprise and skill. It took five minutes, tops, to have the room under his control. Most of the people just surrendered easily seeing the guns, but others not so much. Bellamy stepped forward after knocking out a burlier man in his mid-30s. There staring at him in utter shock, absolutely fuming, was Lexa Roux. She was a short little woman, with dark brown hair and black soulless eyes.

She pulled a big ass knife, from where, Bellamy couldn’t tell you, holding it in front of herself defensively. There was the sound of a duffle bag unzipping from behind him and then the sound of zip ties being tightened as his guys got to work securing Lexa’s people.

Bellamy hit the button on his phone turning on the voice modulator. “You’re done Lexa. Put the knife down.” Bellamy commanded in an enhanced deep voice.

“No I’m not.” She spat. “I don’t know who you think you are, or who you’re associated with, but you just made the biggest mistake of your life.” She promised menacingly.

“I don’t think so. Try the Collin Family bitch.” Bellamy said snidely, taking pleasure when her face paled a bit.

“That would make you…” She trailed off, giving him a cursive once over and flinching when realization hit home who she was messing with.

“The Rebel.” Bellamy confirmed. “Do yourself a favor and put the knife down. Admit to creating the drug and distributing it, and go quietly. Things won’t get messy.” Bellamy promised.

She cackled. “Won’t get messy?” She repeated sarcastically. “I know your rules Rebel. You can’t kill a woman. It goes against your code…” She said smugly, almost tauntingly. “I think I’ll make a bit of noise before I go… Better yet, I don’t think I’ll go at all.”

Bellamy nodded. “You asked for it then.” He hit another button on his phone. Suddenly the sound of voiced filled the mostly quiet room from the phone.

 _‘This is such a lovely home you have Mrs. Roux. Thank you so much for letting me use your phone. My stupid clunker just had to breakdown on my way home from work. You’re such a kind woman.’_ Came Romeo’s voice.

Lexa’s eyes narrowed. “What’s-” She was halted from speaking further by another voice filtering through the phone.

 _‘It’s no problem at all… That’s such a kind thing for you to say, but I’m just doing what I would want someone else to do if my Lexa was in the same position.’_ Came another voice. This one distinctly feminine. It was a familiar voice that made Lexa’s eyes go wide. Suddenly there was a bark or two from a dog.

 _‘Hey buddy… What’s his name?’_ Romeo asked politely.

 _‘Mars… He really like you.’_ The woman said happily.

 _‘Mars? Like the candy bar? There must be a story there…’_ Romeo prompted. The woman took the bait and began explaining the story of how the dog got his name.

“Costia…” Lexa choked out, far paler than Bellamy had seen her before when she learned who he was. “COSTIA!” She yelled, as though hoping to warn her wife of the imminent danger in their very home.

“I’m sorry, Costia can’t here you or talk to you right now… She’s talking to my guy about your Yellow Lab, Mars.” Bellamy said with a shrug. “You know, if I were a betting man, I would bet she doesn’t know about your little side business going on. Does she know that about the kids killed with the drug YOU created?” Bellamy asked cocking his head to the side.

With a wild yell, she lunged for Bellamy, but he was prepared. He disarmed her quickly, throwing the knife into the wall behind her, before throwing her onto the ground. “You’re done… Over… Finished…” Bellamy said clearly and slowly. “Now if you confess to me your crime, my guy will leave Costia safe and warm in her house. If not, well, let’s just say you will have a hell of a hard time trying to find her when you get out of prison… If you get out of prison that is. I’m thinking she’ll wake up in a hospital, registered as Jane Doe, suffering from amnesia.” Bellamy mused.

Lexa knew she was defeated. She was trapped and had nowhere to go, no other options she could think of that ended with her and Costia safe, together. She was, as the Rebel stated… Done for.

Bellamy clicked the record button on his phone that triggered the tape recorder strapped to his arm, to start rolling, as Lexa began confessing her crimes. Once she was finished, Murphy came forward and cuffed her hands together behind her back. Bellamy slipped the little tape out of the device on his arm and duck taped it to her forehead… After duck taping her mouth closed that is. Lastly came the actual fun part.

Bellamy motioned for one of his guys, who was carrying his special duffle bag, forward. He took it, and opened it reveling its contents to the large group. It was full of wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and some other decorative stuff. He looked at his guys and said, “I’m thinking Christmas is going to be in June this year boys. Let’s wrap ‘em up nice for our hard working officers.” Bellamy said a bit sarcastically, his voice modulator still working strong. His guys were still silent but he could see some of them shaking with silent laughter while others did a little fist pump or something to show their excitement.

By time they were done, it looked like Santa Claus’s elves threw up all over the place. Some of the unconscious people were wrapped head to toe in wrapping paper, while the conscious people had ribbon tying them together or little bows covering their faces. Lexa though, was tied to her little ‘throne’, if you could call it that, with tinsel. A giant, bright red bow tied on top of her head.

There was one thing Bellamy had to do though before he left and washed his hand of the whole thing. A one Mr. Darius Marshall had been set aside… His punishment would be different. Bellamy advanced on the bound and duck taped teenager and began directing Miller on what he needed.

“Marker.” A glow in the dark marker was slipped into his hand. He wrote the word ‘DICK’ on the kid’s forehead in block lettering while some of Bellamy’s guys held him down. “Knife.” A sharp blade replaced the marker. Bellamy cut the kids shirt and pants off him to where he was in nothing but his underwear… Which were a pair of pink boxers with little dancing ice cream cones all over it. Some of his guys had to walk away, they were shaking form laughing so hard. “Marker.” Bellamy directed, having the knife and marker swapped again. Bellamy rolled his eyes and asked the kid if his mommy bought his clothes, while he began writing ‘Merry Belated Christmas Coppers -Rebel’ upside down on the kid’s stomach, as big as he could in block lettering, while still making it legible. “Glow bracelets.” He had the handful of glow bracelets in the bottom of the bag handed to him and then he proceeded to put them on Darius’ hands and ankles. “Rope.”

Bellamy tied one end of the rope around the teen’s ankles tightly to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere. Bellamy opened the nearest window and tied the remaining end of the rope to a sturdy chair.

Lastly, Bellamy and Diego dropped the kid out the window upside down by his ankles, and lowered him ‘til he hung somewhere down on the second floor. “I wouldn’t squirm.” Bellamy warned the kid before closing the window on the rope and letting go. He watched as the chair was pulled all the way to the window by Darius’ weight, but was prevented from flying out the window and dropping the teen due to the window being closed.

Bellamy turned and searched the room said, “We’re done here.” Murphy did one last dance-leap-skip-thing around the room emptying bottles of confetti and glitter over as many people as he could before running out, and then all the guys started to file out carrying their bags.

They left as quietly as they arrived. The cars split up and went separate ways, doing a couple of evasive maneuvers before finally heading to the club once they were sure they weren’t followed. He had Monty and Jasper covering all their tracks on street cameras, so nothing was traced back to them.

Once Bellamy was sitting in the car, he got rid of the ski mask and voice modulator. He told Romeo to leave the Roux house, and Lucca to leave too. He informed Monty and Jasper to call the news station and then the police station, specifically Miller’s dad… In that order. They would call in as anonymous, disguise their voices, and make sure the phone lines were secure.

All in all, it was a VERY successful mission. Bellamy was pretty happy, but being happy brought Clarke to his mind. He quickly pulled his phone out and texted Sterling for an update.

_Looking pretty tired, Boss. She’s performed two surgeries, back to back, and now she’s doing charts and making rounds. Should be done in 30 minutes or so. –S_

Bellamy looked at the clock… 3:48 A.M. All he really wanted to do at that moment was go and see her… Suddenly a thought occurred to him and a plan started coming together in his mind, making him smile. Once they got back to the club Bellamy changed out of his street clothes back into his suit. He forwent his tie, and left a couple buttons undone on his shirt. He tucked his Eagle at his back, in the waist band of his pants, and covered it with his suit jacket. He grabbed the duffle bag containing his clothes, told his guys he was leaving, and then left. They were a little miffed on why he was leaving so soon, when he normally stuck around to hang out with them… He didn’t even wait until they got the confirmation the cops had got there and arrested everyone. He just left.

Bellamy took his time driving to the hospital… His girl wasn’t going anywhere. When he got there he parked and headed into the main lobby. He looked around, spotting the coffee cart she had spoken of and headed over. The guy operating it was wearing a NYU sweatshirt, and looked half asleep. Bellamy quickly ordered the two coffee’s and sweetened Clarke’s as much as he dared, without going completely overboard. He grabbed two more creams and packets of sweetener just in case, before asking the kid for directions to the pediatric wing. After a long walk, and getting lost only once, Bellamy finally made it to the floor he was supposed to be on. He figured he would ask whoever was at the main desk where Doctor Griffin was, but found he didn’t have to.

Turning a corner, he found her. She was standing in front of the floor’s main desk, leaning on it, writing on a chart while talking to another woman sitting behind the desk dressed in the same dark blue scrubs and white lab coat as his princess. Her hair was once again in a braid, hanging down her back. He could see from where he was standing that Clarke had a little furrow between her eyes while she was concentrating on what she was writing, but it disappeared when she looked up to smile at the woman and whatever she was saying, before it returned as she looked down and began writing again. The woman sitting behind the desk noticed Bellamy leaning against the wall watching Clarke, and gave him a questioning look. Bellamy motioned his head toward Clarke and watched as the woman leaned forward whispering something to her.

Clarke looked up and turned her head, spotting Bellamy. She grinned brightly, set down the pen she had been writing with, and began to walk over. “Hey you… What are you doing here?” She said once she was standing in front of him.

Bellamy wordlessly pulled the coffee he had gotten for her from behind his back and handed it over. “Coffee break, Princess.” He said grinning, watching how her eyes widened looking at the coffee cup in her hands like it was a pot of gold.

“Oh my God…” She said immediately closing her eyes and taking a tentative sip. “Mm… You’re my angel.” She said opening her tired blue eyes to look up at him, smiling broadly.

 _Funny,_ Bellamy thought to himself, _that’s exactly what I think of you._ He watched her take another sip, and sigh.

“Good Princess?” Bellamy questioned. “I’ve got more sweetener if you want it…”

“No way, it’s perfect! Oh, I have someone for you to meet.” She said tugging on his sleeve and leading him over to the desk with the woman sitting behind it. “This is my friend Doctor Emori Koss. Em, this is Bellamy, my life saver.” Clarke introduced. “She’s the one who worked on your guy Adam.” She said to Bellamy.

“Nice to meet you… Life saver was it?” Emori asked with a polite friendly smile, shaking his hand.

Bellamy shook his head, grinning. “Bellamy will do just fine. I hear you’re the life saver though… I’m told Adam’s going to make a full recovery thanks to you, so thank you.” He said fervently.

“I was just doing my job.” She said modestly. “From what I heard, Clarke is the real hero. Your guy wouldn’t have made it if not for her being there. She’s the real life saver in this whole thing.” Emori said smiling warmly at Clarke, who looked uncomfortable with having all the attention on her.

“Yeah, she’s something special.” Bellamy murmured, staring at Clarke intensely. She gazed back at him for as long as she could, until her cheeks started to redden causing her to look away.

Emori, hearing Bellamy’s words, nodded agreeing with him. She checked her watch and stood, figuring she should make herself scarce for the couple.

“I gotta get going, girl…” She said to Clarke. “Breaks about to be over, and unlike you, I don’t have a handsome man bringing me coffee, so I must go get my own.” She sighed exaggeratedly with a sad face, before she let the face fall and be replaced be a mischievous smile. “I think I’ll go bug Burt, and get him to go get me some.” She said laughing.

“Oh jeez, Em… You’re gonna drive that man crazy.” Clarke said with fond amusement towards the other woman.

Emori shrugged and winked at Clarke, before leaving with a quick, “See you later!”

“Who’s Burt?” Bellamy asked perplexed.

“Burt is our night security guard. He’s an older man in his 60’s. He’s been really sweet to me. Emori loves to drive the man up the wall, any way she can.” Clarke said with fondness. “I think he secretly loves that she keeps him on his toes.” She mused.

“Sooo…” She said, turning to look up at him with a smile. “What made you decide to bring me coffee at…” She paused to look at her watch. “… 4:30 in the morning?”

“I couldn’t just bring my friend coffee?” He asked innocently. She gave him a look. “Okay, so I was up super early already… Boss man has me working.” He said nonchalantly. It wasn’t technically a lie… He was up early, working to solve that Bronx problem for his dad, who was also technically considered to be his boss. “Can you take a break?” He asked her quietly as a nurse came bustling around the corner.

Clarke nodded, and closed up the chart she had been working on. “I sure can. I was done anyway. Hey, Jane, page me if anything happens, I’m going on break.” She said to the younger woman who hadn’t stopped staring at Bellamy since she’d looked up and saw him. She was staring at him all star-struck like… Making Bellamy extremely uncomfortable.

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Bellamy whispered to Clarke. Clarke shook her head and placed the back of her hand on his stomach lightly, pushing him slowly away from the counter that he was standing in front of. He followed her silent directions, watching as she stepped in front of him and stared the woman down. The woman, Jane, continued staring at him over Clarke’s head. Clarke raised her fingers and snapped them once, and it was like some kind of spell was broken. The woman seemed to come back to herself, and blushed beat red in embarrassment, realizing what she had just done.

“I-I… I’m s… I just… You’re…” She stuttered out. Bellamy put the hand not holding his coffee on Clarke’s hip and squeezed gently, silently asking her to do something. He didn’t want the nurse saying anything that could call him out or clue Clarke in as to who he really was.

“Are you good?” Clarke interrupted, with an eyebrow raised. “Do you think you can you control yourself if I step away for 15 minutes?”

“Yes ma’am.” The woman said not being able to look up at either one of them after seeing Bellamy resting his hand on her hip. _Damn, that was hot as hell._ Bellamy thought, watching Clarke put the woman in her place.

Clarke grabbed her coffee sitting on the desk, and turned around. “Let’s go.” She said to Bellamy throwing a glare over her shoulder at the other woman now watching them, making her flinch. They turned and walked away… Bellamy’s hand now resting protectively on her lower back. Once they were out of hearing range, Clarke relaxed completely into his side and spoke. “I’m sorry about that… I’m sure being ogled like that made you a bit uneasy. She tends to have a problem with boundaries and manners.” Clarke said a little sourly. “I just had a talk with her not one hour ago about that. Completely unprofessional.” She muttered the last sentence under her breath, but with Bellamy’s close proximity, he heard it.

“What’d she do to warrant the talk?” Bellamy asked.

“Flirting with the father of one of my patients. Yeah… His wife did not like that one bit when she came back from making a call.” Clarke said shaking her head. “But enough about that mess… Sorry for dumping that on you.” She said sheepishly as the continued walking down the corridor. Clarke moved Bellamy’s hand from around her so she could wrap her arm around his, and lean her head on his bicep.

Bellamy shrugged gently, so he didn’t disturb her head too much. “I’ve kinda gotten used to it over the years… All the attention I mean. You have to when you have a face as good looking as mine.” He teased, hoping to get her mind off her distasteful co-worker.

Clarke laughed. “What am I going to do with you?” She asked amused, looking up at him with her head still resting on his arm.

 _Whatever the hell you want…_ Bellamy thought, looking down at her heart-stoppingly beautiful face.

He just grinned at her. “When do you get off shift?” Bellamy asked, even though he already knew… 9:30 A.M.

“9:30… I’m planning to go to the farmer’s market after work, and get some fresh produce.” She said turning her head to look in front of them. “That reminds me.” She said stopping suddenly and turning so they were facing each other. “Would you like to have dinner at my apartment tonight? I’m making stir-fry.”

While Bellamy wanted to jump at the offer, he hesitated. Everything in him was screaming to agree. He could see what her apartment looked like but he wanted to be sure she would get the rest she needed after working all night. “Are you sure? You’re supposed to be sleeping though…” He said uncertainly.

“Of course I’m sure… I’ll take a nap when I get home, I promise. I can’t sleep the whole day though because then I’ll mess up my sleep cycle. Think of it as my way of saying thank you for agreeing to be my tour guide to the city.” She said teasingly before she blushed a little, and looked away. “And, well, your grandmother may have let slip the other day that you’re a terrible cook, and tend to live off of take out.” She said quickly before taking a long sip of her coffee. She took a quick look at him out of the corner of her eye, while she was drinking from the cup.

Bellamy’s mouth popped open. “I am not that bad. I can cook…” He trailed off, outraged his grandmother would throw him under the bus like that.

Clarke gave him an amused look. “I believe the exact words she used were ‘could burn water’.”

“Damn… It was one time.” Bellamy said exasperated, telling her about the first cooking lesson he had with his grandmother when he was about 20 or so, that ended with boiled eggs exploding because all the water evaporated.

Clarke started laughing, making Bellamy smile. “So yes or no to dinner?” She asked still giggling.

With those clear blue eyes looking at him with so much happiness, there was no way he could refuse. “Yeah… Dinner sounds great.” Bellamy agreed easily.

She nodded happily. “Come to my place around six, and I should have dinner done. Are you allergic to anything?” She asked. He shook his head no.

Bellamy finally took a look around, noticing where they were for the first time. They had stopped somewhere in the Maternity Ward. Bellamy had walked through here on his way to the Pediatric Wing. Up ahead, there was a little sign that said nursery. Clarke started to steer them towards it. They stopped in front of the window.

She raised her and pointed to a baby, swaddled in a light blue blanket, sucking on a pacifier. “That’s baby Griffin. I just delivered him about two hours ago.” She said gazing at the baby softly. “I wanted to come check on him when I took my break… His mom got into a car accident earlier this morning, and I had to deliver him almost three whole weeks early to save him and her. Thankfully they’re both doing great so far, and should be able to leave in about a week or two.”

“She named him after you?” Bellamy asked quietly, stunned.

She nodded. “Yeah. She said he should be named after the woman who saved his life.” She said looking up at him with tears in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “They’re the reason I do what I do.” She said with a watery smile before turning to look back at the baby.

Bellamy slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. She squeezed his hand back. “You know I meant what I said earlier… You’re really something special. Amazing really.” Bellamy murmured to her. She blushed again, looking down. She shrugged, before looking back at the baby in the nursery. Either she didn’t get a lot of compliments, or she just didn’t like to hear them… Either way, Bellamy was going to rectify the problem.

“Princess?” He asked after a pause.

“Hmm...” She said looking back up at him.

“What made you decide to go into pediatric surgery?” He asked, remembering her hesitation to tell him she was going into pediatrics when they first met and he had asked her what type of doctor she was.

That same hesitation made an appearance now, as she struggled to open up to him. The war in her head ended when she opened her mouth and said, “My brother. When we were younger he had an… accident, I guess you could say. It was bad. He shouldn’t have survived, but he did, all thanks to Dr. Jackson Tiller. Jackson was a friend of my mom’s, and he operated on my brother saving his life. Jackson took me under his wing when I decided I wanted to be a pediatric surgeon, like him, during my second year of pre-med in college. He moved over here to be the chief of surgery at this hospital, when I was a year into medical school. He called me about two months ago with this job offer, and I jumped at it.” She shrugged. “Now he’s my boss, and my mentor, and I couldn’t be happier working here.” She said with a wistful smile on her face.

Bellamy made a mental note to thank the man if he ever met him… He was in awe of how she took the career forced upon her by her mother, and was able to make the best of it. They began walking aimlessly, and talking some more. Before Bellamy knew it, she was getting paged to come back, so he walked her back. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, with a fervent ‘Thank you’ for the coffee, and she was off again in a blonde whirlwind, kicking ass and saving lives.

Bellamy turned and left, knowing he had work starting soon, but excited for six o’clock to roll around so he could see his princess again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you all think about the way Bellamy and the guys handled the Grounders and Lexa? Bellamy certainly has an imagination on him right? What about his visit to see Clarke at the hospital? Any one see that coming? I did tease he'd be at the hospital...
> 
> Okay, so as I've said, I'm leaving on Sunday to head back to school, and then I've got by brother's birthday next weekend that I'm coming back home for... In short, I'm fixing to get crazy busy, so I'm taking a short 2 week break. I wont be posting next Friday, but the Friday after that. The next chapter will be up September 4th. I know you all are going to hate it, believe me, I hate it too, but I need to get more chapters written so I can continue with the weekly updates, and not be reduced to monthly updates... That will suck. I know you all will understand, because you're all so absolutely amazing. I thank each and everyone of you for reading, and giving me love and support.  
> -Redhead17x


	13. Assumptions and the Perfect Weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Here's chapter 13. This week has been so crazy... Same with last week, and I haven't gotten as much writing done as I would have liked. Unfortunately I haven't been able to respond to any of my comments with all the insanity going on, but I promise to get them done tomorrow since that's my free day. I love each an everyone of you, and thank you all so much for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions!!!
> 
> WARNING: You will possibly need a doctor after reading this first part, due to busting your gut laughing so hard. Also... A dentist will be required, because all this sweet Bellarke fluff is sure to rot some teeth out. When my sister read this chapter, she ended up sliding out of her chair, and rolling on the floor, so be sure there is nothing on the floor that can cause you harm if you have the same reaction. Happy reading...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 13- Assumptions and the Perfect Weekend**

As Bellamy was packing up Friday afternoon, getting ready to leave and head home to change before going to Clarke’s apartment, he had his guys barge into his office. They were chattering loudly about hitting up the club in celebration for making the front page of the New York Times and the morning news with their take down during the early morning hours, but Bellamy wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention… He was too preoccupied with thinking about the wonderful weekend ahead of him with his princess, and how it was all starting in a little under an hour.

Bellamy’s guys were all almost bouncing off the walls in excitement, and figured they were probably going to have to pull Bellamy’s teeth just to get him to leave the office, but with Monty and Jasper’s puppy dog looks, Murphy and Lucca’s ‘pretty please with a watermelon on top’, and the remaining boys’ pleading, they were confident they would succeed in their mission.

To their shock however, Bellamy was already preparing to leave… Their talking ceased, and they all froze as they took in the terrifying scene before them. Their boss was standing behind his desk, smiling the happiest, most absentminded smile they had ever seen, as he turned off his computer monitor. He seemed to be completely unaware of their presence. As they continued watching, Bellamy pulled his gun out of his desk drawer, and checked it to make sure the safety was on before tucking it at his back under his suit jacket. To their horror, he began whistling as he put a couple of files in his messenger bag.

“He’s smiling…” Jasper whispered.

“I know…” Murphy whispered back from right beside him.

“And whistling.” Monty said, completely astonished.

“We can hear that, thanks Captain Obvious.” Miller said lowly, not taking his eyes from the scene.

“I’m scared…” Jasper said fearfully. “Someone hold me.”

“Not on your life.” Romeo said glaring at Jasper, who had slowly inched toward the person closest to him which just so happened to be Romeo.

“Oh God…” Lucca said with a gasp. “He’s sick and delusional… He’s obviously having a hallucination of some sort.”

“What do we do?” Diego asked looking at Bellamy, who was still packing up. “We can’t just leave him like this… Can we?” He asked the group.

“No…” Antonio spoke up. “Someone has to go over there and… I dunno. Do something I guess.” He said shrugging.

All the guys paused for a beat. Then everyone but Miller and Murphy took a collective step back as though saying ‘Not it’. Murphy and Miller both rolled their eyes at each other and both lifted their hands.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.” They both chanted quietly. Miller did scissors while Murphy did paper. Miller fake cut Murphy’s piece of paper with his finger scissors, grinning.

“Damn it… Best two outta three.” Murphy hissed glaring at a smug Miller. Miller nodded, and they went through the motions again. This time, Miller did rock while Murphy did scissors. Miller smashed his rock fist on Murphy’s hand scissors, winning the game.

“Fine… Stupid head.” Murphy muttered to Miller while pouting as he slinked over to the desk.

Bellamy saw him approaching, and stopped whistling. His facial expression was open and expectant… Waiting for whatever nonsense was about to spill forth from his friend’s mouth, which could literally be anything.

“Heeeyyyyy buddy…” Murphy started off, drawing out his hey. “How ya doing?” He said placatingly as he slowly started sliding around the side of desk to where Bellamy was looking at him like he was crazy. He approached him cautiously, as you would a spooked animal, closing in. “How ya feelin’? Hungry? Thirsty? Want a pillow? What about a blanket? Hmmm? Little blankie to go beddy-bye with?” Murphy said with his voice rising with each question. By the last question, his voice was high pitched, and had crossed into baby talk territory.

“Murphy, what the fuck are y-” Bellamy started off calmly, completely confused, but was cut off by Murphy hollering, “Get him, he’s going crazy!” Before Murphy jumped on him knocking him over.

Before Bellamy could blink, he had Murphy and Miller holding down his legs, Monty sitting on his chest, and Romeo and Lucca each holding down one of his arms. Jasper sat by his head, stroking his hair, repeating softly, “You are a cinnamon roll, too precious for this world.” While Antonio and Diego were in the background, trying to call Bellamy’s grandmother.

“Damn it!! Let me up you buffoons!!” Bellamy yelled, struggling to get free. “Don’t you dare call her.” Bellamy said glowering at Antonio and Diego. They both slowly lowered the phones at their ears, and hit the end buttons.

“That’s exactly what sick Bellamy would say.” Monty snipped from above him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bellamy asked outraged.

“You’re sick boss. We’ll help you… Get you all straightened out. Promise.” Lucca pleaded, while Bellamy continued to struggle. Suddenly he went limp, causing the guys to relax marginally.

“I will ask this one more time… What in God’s name do you nincompoops think you’re doing?” Bellamy asked through clenched teeth.

“We’re saving you from yourself.” Romeo said loudly and slowly, as though Bellamy was deaf and stupid.

“You were whistling.” Miller said from his feet.

“And smiling… Happily might I add.” Murphy quipped holding Bellamy’s knees. “You were scaring Jasper.”

Above him Jasper nodded solemnly.

“I was not whistling and smiling.” Bellamy denied, fully believing he hadn’t been… He didn’t remember it.

“Oh sweet baby Jesus… He didn’t even notice it had been happening.” Jasper said looking at Bellamy with wide eyes. “It’s spread to his brain… Probably his heart.” He said seriously to the group. “Okay, we need Nonni, and very powerful animal tranquilizers, stat... Enough to knock out a rhinoceros. That’s the only way we’ll keep him down ‘til she gets here.”

“Jasper, I will beat your ass if you tranq me. I am dead serious.” Bellamy growled.

“God, it sounds just like real Bellamy.” Monty said poking Bellamy’s nose, then his cheek.

“That’s because I am him dummy.” Bellamy said exasperated.

“Prove it alien!” Monty challenged. “What’s something the real Bellamy would know guys?” He questioned everyone. Everyone was silent.

“Why is Murphy never allowed to drive with Lucca in the front seat?” Diego demanded.

“Yeah… What he said.” Monty chimed in looking down at Bellamy.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. “Because of that one time Lucca hit Murphy in the face with his shoe while they were driving. There was a bee in the truck, and Lucca was trying to swat at it with his shoe, and ended up nailing Murphy right across the face instead. They ended up totaling a car because they were too busy beating the shit out of each other rather than watching the road.” Bellamy explained the story, clearly, calmly, and collectedly. He needed to get out of there soon if he didn’t want to be late for dinner at Clarke’s. The smile came to his face involuntarily without him knowing it once again, just thinking her name.

“Ahhhh…” Jasper screamed, scrambling away from him. “There it is again!!! That smile!! It burns my eyes!!!” He yelled, throwing his hand over his face and scrubbing his eyes furiously.

“Oh for fucks sake.” Bellamy muttered. Taking advantage of everyone’s distracted state, Bellamy swiftly twisted, throwing Monty off his chest, and getting his arms loose. Two swift kicks, and Murphy and Miller were rolling in the floor clutching their chests where Bellamy had kicked them each. Romeo was the first to reach him, and was the first to get a nice gut punch. Lucca tried too, and he found himself next to Romeo with a tender jaw. Bellamy stood and looked at Antonio, Diego and Jasper. He raised his eyebrows, as though asking _‘You want some whoop-ass too?’_

Antonio and Diego raised their hands in surrender while everyone else got off the floor.

“So you’re not sick?” Monty asked confused.

“No Monty… I am not sick.” Bellamy said slowly for everyone to comprehend.

“But the whistling…” Murphy said trailing off.

“And the smiling.” Jasper finished.

“Guys, why the hell can’t I be happy, huh?” Bellamy asked. “We got no more missions or shipments to deal with for a while, business it good on both sides of the spectrum, we are on every news station, radio and newspaper in the city, and I’ve got all of you. Today is a good day… Let’s enjoy life. After all, no one truly knows how long they have on this earth.” Bellamy said with conviction, as all his guys listened to him absolutely enraptured with what Bellamy was speaking. He had such a passion and way with words that could mesmerize anyone into doing anything. “Now, I’ve got to get going... I got an appointment with a doctor. I’ll talk to you guys later.” He said happily, and quickly grabbed his things, leaving before they could realize what was happening.

“Did he just say doctor’s appointment?” Jasper asked confused, looking around at everyone. Everyone froze for a beat, repeating Bellamy’s words over again, before they all scrambled out of his office, and made a mad dash for the elevator doors that were already closing.

The doors closed fully right as the boys crashed into them. Jasper began banging on the doors futilely.

“It’s no use Jasper.” Miller grumbled. “He’s gone.”

“But if he’s dying, we have to…” Jasper began.

“Wait, wait, wait… Who said he’s dying?” Diego asked confused.

“Think about it doofus. He’s going to a _doctor’s_ appointment… Without Nonni dragging him. His whole speech about ‘enjoying life’ and ‘not knowing how long people have to live’. The smiling and whistling? No one caught that it was his subtle way of telling us he was dying?” Jasper asked appalled.

“He’s not… He wouldn’t… Not without telling…” Romeo started to deny, but couldn’t seem to finish his sentences.

“Oh God, he’s dying.” Monty said sniffling.

“But wait!” Miller said quickly. “What if he’s met someone, and is slowly falling in love… He’s really just happy, and nothing’s really wrong.” He asked thoughtfully.

The guys stood still, thinking, then everyone, including Miller, collectively said, “Nahhh.”

“He would tell us if he was sick though right?” Antonio asked uncertainly.

“No… Not if he didn’t want us to worry about him. You know Bellamy… He’s so concerned for everyone else, and their state of mind, he wouldn’t want to upset one of us or have us treat him differently. He wouldn’t want us to know ‘til the very last moment and he was on his death bed.” Murphy mumbled looking at the ground.

“What do we do?” Monty asked miserably.

There was a heavy silence… “We make the best out of his remaining days.” Murphy said firmly, looking up and around at everyone. “We don’t tell him we know, we act like everything is fine, and we spend as much time with him as we can.”

Everyone nodded solemnly, and dispersed.

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy got off the elevator down stairs, and saw Jones waiting for him by the car. The people still milling around in the lobby didn’t miss the pep their boss seemed to have in his step as he left the building. Bellamy and Jones quickly headed to his apartment, where Bellamy dismissed Jones for the rest of the weekend and headed up to his penthouse. He was excited to see Clarke again, and get to see what her apartment looked like… Her sanctuary, the place she called home. He changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white T-shirt, before leaving once again... Once he got to her place, Bellamy decided to leave his gun in the car. He wasn’t that person when he was with her.

He got out of the car, and headed up stairs, forgoing the elevator that she told him was always broken, and terribly unreliable. She lived in apartment 5B, which was down the hall, on his left. He raised his hand and knocked… He could smell the food from here, and his stomach growled. If it tasted a fourth as good as it smelled, he was going to be in heaven.

The door to her apartment swung open revealing his smiling princess. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, and she was dressed in an oversized light blue T-shirt and a pair of dark denim cutoff shorts. Even though she was short, the girl had legs that seemed to go on for miles. She was barefoot, giving Bellamy the perfect view of her light pink painted toe nails. She looked the picture of relaxed, at ease, and at home. Bellamy was struck by the thought of this being what he would come home to every day if she were really his.

“Come on you… Dinner will be ready soon.” She said grabbing his hand and gently tugging him into her apartment. “Shoes off.” She said pointing to an area to the right of the door where a couple pairs of her shoes were placed on a mat, and a coat rack hanging above it. There was a small table along the wall with her hospital ID tag, keys, phone, and a couple other items on it, and a mirror hanging above it. Bellamy did as she bid, slipping his shoes off, and scanning her apartment. “Make yourself at home, okay?” She said grinning at him. He nodded, watching as she went back to cooking.

The first thing that struck him about her apartment was how open and bright it was. It was a big studio apartment, so the whole concept was open. The walls were brick, and the floors looked to be made of old chestnut planks. To his right was the kitchen where Clarke was working on finishing up the last minute touches on dinner, humming softly to herself. The kitchen was big. The cabinets matched the floors, the appliances were all stainless steel. It including an island kitchen bar with three stools.

Directly across from that, nearer to the windows, sat a living room area. A big black comfy-looking couch sat facing the flat screen TV mounted on the brick wall and a matching loveseat sat perpendicular to the couch, with its back turned toward the kitchen. An inn table with a red lamp sat in the open corner between the two couches. There were these red throw pillows of various sizes and shades of red on the two sofas. The glass coffee table that sat between the two sofas had two remotes and a few magazines neatly arraigned on top. The TV had a small entertainment system underneath. One of the windows in the living room area had a window bench beneath it, with a long black cushion and a red pillow or two.

Then, following the wall of spaced out windows was the bedroom area. There was a book case between two of the windows between the living room area and the bedroom area, and all the windows had elegant black curtains that were currently pulled back. In the bedroom area, she had a queen sized bed against the brick wall running parallel to the windows, with a black and white flower patterned comforter donning it. A couple of the throw pillows on top were turquoise. There was a black leather storage ottoman at the end of the bed. The bed frame was black, as was the night stand.

Bellamy suddenly felt Clarke at his side. “It’s not much, but it’s perfect for me.” She said with a smile. “Let me give you a tour.” She said pulling him to the center of the apartment. “Kitchen.” She said pointing to the kitchen, and then they turned so she was pointing at the living area. “Living room.” She turned again. “Bedroom and then bathroom, then kitchen again.” She said, finishing out the 360 turn.

That’s what he hadn’t seen. The bathroom was a separate room off the bedroom area. There looked to be a small closet next to the bathroom and a black dresser next to it.

“It’s a nice place you got here.” Bellamy commented, and he meant it. It felt… Home-y. Looking around again, Bellamy took in the signs that screamed someone lived here, but more importantly, that Clarke lived here, such as the small photo of her and her brother on her night stand, the art supplies arranged neatly in bins and small storage drawers on the book case, along with several books ranging from medical text books to books on art styles of the 1800’s. There was a sketch book lying open on the window bench with a pencil lying next to it, as though she had just gotten up. Little touches around the apartment that were so distinctly Clarke, it was impossible not to see them.

“Thank you.” She said proudly. “The rice is all that’s left to finish, and then we can eat. What do you want to drink?” She asked over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator. “I’ve got water, soda, juice, and questionable milk.” She said eyeing the carton suspiciously, making Bellamy laugh.

“Soda’s good.” Bellamy said as he wondered over to the open sketch book, and picked it up. He turned it over to see an amazing, yet familiar black and white sketch of the New York City skyline from a distance. The drawing was simply incredible. The details were so sharp and clear; Bellamy could have sworn it was photograph. As he continued to look at it, it came to him… This was the view from the roof top garden Tuesday night at The Met. He didn’t know how she could draw something like this, just from memory, but it was completely magnificent.

Wanting to see more, Bellamy began to turn the page forward. “No, wait, Bellamy don’t-.” Clarke said quickly, and started to hurry over, but it was too late. He’d already seen… Well, himself. There he was, leaning against the hospital wall, exactly how he had earlier that morning… Both his arms behind his back, top two shirt buttons undone, messy hair, and a little smile playing at the corners of his mouth. This is what he had looked like to her when she had first turned and saw him.

What really got him though was his eyes. He looked… Content? Carefree? He didn’t know, but it was something to that effect. He had never before seen the look he was wearing in her sketch, on his face in the mirror or in a photo. Before he could continue to examine himself through her eyes, the sketch book was gone.

Looking up confused, he saw Clarke blushing furiously as she closed the sketch book and slid it behind her back holding it there. She looked everywhere else, but at him, as she said bashfully, “So…” She coughed weakly. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

Bellamy didn’t say anything… He wanted to see those baby blues looking up at him when he spoke to her. His silence worked, and she looked up at him, blue eyes bright. Her cheeks were no longer red, but an enticing pink color. _Absolutely adorable…_ Bellamy thought internally sighing at the sight before him.

“Why ever not Princess? You’re a fantastic artist…” He figured it would be best not to tease her about drawing him. After all, he loved that he was important enough to her to be drawn. “I want to see it again…” He said making grabby hands at it, trying to reach around her and take back the book.

“No way dude…” She said shaking her head, slowly backing away from him. “You got a look, one you weren’t supposed to have in the first place… That’s all for you.”

“Princess…” Bellamy playfully warned. “Don’t make me chase you down to get it…”

Clarke stopped moving and looked at him for a beat, before sticking her tongue out at him and turning to run. Bellamy started chasing after her, delighting in hearing her squealing laughter. They ran circles around the living room, laughing and acting like children… Clarke found it downright hilarious when Bellamy skidded on the hardwood floors because of his socks. Finally, they wound up at an impasse, being separated by the couch. Bellamy was standing between the coffee table and the couch with the TV at his back while Clarke was standing on the other side of the couch with her bedroom behind her.

The fading afternoon sunlight, cast the room in an orange glow, making Clarke practically glow with happiness. She watched him with a mischievous grin alighting her face, like she knew something he didn’t. Bellamy faked left, as though to go around the couch, causing Clarke squeal and turn to try and run, but Bellamy vaulted over the couch, catching her around the waist and pulling her back into his chest. She began laughing as she held the book just out of his reach. Bellamy turned and threw her over his shoulder, walking the few steps to her bed, and dropping her, causing her to laugh harder.

Her words about being super ticklish came back to him… Making him smirk. Clarke held the book tightly to her chest with both arms, watching him carefully with a smile still alight her face, waiting for his next move to try and take the book… Which came moments later when Bellamy began to tickle her unmercifully.

“You… Cheater…” she got out between peals of laughter. She tried to get free, but Bellamy was firm in his hold.

He paused after a moment, waiting for her laughter to die down before asking cheekily, “Give up Princess?”

“Never.” She said still giggling. He began to tickle her again, and didn’t stop. Clarke was completely red in the face by then… Suddenly, she let go of the book, put both hands on his chest, and pushed while rolling to the side, sending him over the side of the bed and onto his back on the floor. He waited a beat, stunned that such a tiny thing like her could have so much strength, and saw a bun of hair slowly emerge from the top of the bed… Then a forehead, and lastly a pair of eyes that he could just tell was grinning at him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Clarke let out some kind of war cry screech before rolling off the bed, and landing so she was straddling him. She immediately began trying to tickling him, and he’d damned if it was working. He started laughing, as she turned the tables and didn’t relent in her assault. He was ticklish… And he had let someone in close enough to figure that out. _Not just someone…_ His mind whispered as he gazed up at Clarke, who had stopped tickling him and was grinning proudly, like she had won a prize… _Clarke, your princess._

Simultaneously, a timer went off on the stove and there was a knock on the door, ending the moment they were having. Clarke stood and tried pulling Bellamy to his feet, but his dead weight was too heavy for her, so he ended up doing most of the work getting up off the floor. Clarke quickly ran across the apartment into the kitchen to remove a pot, that he assumed was the rice, from the stove, and then rushed to answer the door, her hair looking even messier than before. Behind the door was a small pale brown haired woman.

“Hey Maya.” Clarke greeted cheerful.

“Hi Clarke… Is everything okay? I hear yelling and loud noises, and got concerned.” The other woman stated worriedly.

“I’m good. Come in.” Clarke said ushering her in. “Maya, this is Bellamy. Bell, this is Maya Vie.” Clarke introduced.

They both shook hands before Clarke asked Maya if she wanted to take a plate of food home with her and her little girl. Bellamy on the other hand was completely caught up in Clarke calling him Bell… He didn’t think she had even realized she’d done it. No one had ever called him that… No one. Not his uncle, father, grandmother or one of his guys… Not even his mother when she was alive. He didn’t think he would have liked anyone shortening his name like that, but the way Clarke said, it felt… Intimate almost. He loved it.

Maya shook her head in response to Clarke’s question. “No thanks. I appreciate it though. I’ve got the night shift at the airport tonight, so I’ve gotta get going. Alison still needs a bath and a bed time story before the babysitter gets here. I’ll talk with you soon okay?”

“Okay… Be safe girl, and kiss my Ali-cat goodnight for me.” Clarke said ushering her out. Once the door was closed again, Clarke turned and smiled the smile she seemed to have reserved only for him, and said, “Dinner time.”

Bellamy found she was a bossy little thing when she was on a mission. She first directed him to wash his hands in the kitchen sink, and then where to find plates and silverware, so he could set the bar where they would be eating. Once he was done, Bellamy sat down at the bar while she was dishing everything into bowls and setting them on the bar. While she was working, she talked to him a bit about her day, and what she found at the farmer’s market. While the domesticity of the whole thing should have thrown him for a loop and freaked the shit out of him, he found himself feeling blissful and content, asking questions and making comments about the things she was saying.

She put the last bowl down and walked around to sit beside him. “Okay, we have rice in this bowl.” She said handing him a bowl. “Chicken, pork, or beef in those.” She said flourishing her hand in the direction of the bowls. “Broccoli and mushrooms in that one, and the last one had the onions, carrots and different peppers.” She said pointing to the last two. “I do it like this so when I freeze the left overs, I can portion it out into individual meals that I can easily reheat later.” She said answering a couple of Bellamy’s unasked questions such as why she made so much food, and why she didn’t just cook it all together and then serve it instead of cooking the different ingredients the way she did.

Bellamy took his first bite, and groaned at how good it was. Damn his woman could cook… There was an explosion of flavor in his mouth, and he began to eat in earnest, pausing when he heard a giggle from beside him.

He looked up from his plate to see Clarke gazing at him in bemusement, with her eyebrows raised. “Good?” She asked smiling.

“Out of this world.” Bellamy amended, making Clarke’s cheeks pinken at the praise. “Are you a self-taught cook, or did you learn from someone?” Bellamy asked curiously, while still eating the heavenly food before him.

“A bit of both I suppose.” She mused, eating a bite here and there. “When I was about 4 or 5, my mom put me in ballet classes. She loved the idea of me being a prima ballerina… I hated every last minute of it though, and my dad knew it. So when I was about eight or so, my dad saw how unhappy it made me, took me out of the classes and began teaching me to cook. He had learned from his mother, and her from her mother before that, and so I guess he figured he too could pass his knowledge down. It was great because he was always so busy with work and such, that it became our bonding time. Then when I got older, I began learning on my own with my brother being my guinea pig.”

“What does your dad do?” He asked.

Bellamy noticed the dark look that crossed her face before it faded, leaving her face in a carefully blank mask. “Uh… He owns an engineering firm, and is in the import-export business.”

Bellamy decided to change the subject seeing as how talking about her dad’s work was making her uncomfortable. “So where do you want to go tomorrow?” He asked.

“I get to choose?” She asked excitedly. Bellamy nodded, grinning.

“Oh jeez... There is just so much I want to see though.” She murmured to herself, deep in thought.

“You said you have a list right?” Bellamy asked. She nodded. “Well, let’s see it then…”

Bellamy watched as she hopped off the stool and walked over to her bed where she had left her sketch book in the mist of their tickle war, and pick the book up before heading back to the counter. She flipped opened the cover and flipped a few pages before handing it over, sitting back down next to him. There, written in her neat loopy hand writing was a list of about 20 New York City attractions that she wanted to go visit. A couple of them had check marks beside them, such as Little Italy and The Met, both of which he’d taken her to.

They poured over the list for the rest of dinner, finally deciding to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the next day. After they had finished eating, Clarke put away the left overs, and after a bit of a fuss, Clarke finally agreed to let him help her do the dishes.

“So what’s your favorite type of cookie?” Clarke asked him, drying a plate before setting it in the cabinet with the others.

“Good old fashion chocolate chip. You?”

“I like those too, but my favorite would have to be peanut butter. Favorite ice cream?”

“Mint chocolate chip.” He said immediately while washing a pan.

“Ewe… Gross. Your one of _those_ people…” She said exaggeratedly, scrunching her nose and shaking her head teasingly.

“Hey what’s wrong with mint chocolate chip?” Bellamy asked in mock outrage.

“Nothing.” She said grinning at him, taking the washed pan from him, and drying it. “I love chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.”

“What’s your favorite candy?” Bellamy asked washing a glass.

“Umm… It’s a tossup between Reese’s, Hershey’s dark chocolate, and frozen gummy bears.” She said taking the glass from his hand and rinsing it before drying it and putting it in the cabinet.

Bellamy had stopped doing the dishes and was watching her. She noticed and looked up to him. “What?” She asked.

Bellamy couldn’t help but grin and raise his eyebrows, “Frozen gummy bears?” He asked amused.

She nodded. “Yeah… You know. Putting a bag in the freezer, letting them freeze, and then eating them? You’ve never had ‘em?” She asked with wide eyes. Bellamy shook his head chuckling, and went back to washing.

“Well I know what we’re having for dessert.” She mumbled.

They finished the dishes, continuing to ask questions about each other’s eating habits. As they finished the last dish, Clarke handed Bellamy a hand towel to wipe his hands off on and walked over to the freezer, pulling out a Ziploc bag full of the colorful candy bears. She grabbed water bottle out of the fridge and his half full soda can still on the counter before nudging him into the living room and towards the couch in front of the TV with her hands full. Once Bellamy was sitting on the comfortable couch, she handed him his soda and the bag of frozen gummy bears, before grabbing the remote and sitting closely next to him. She tuned on the TV and traded the remote out for the bag of candy.

“See what’s on TV please, Bell.” She said absentmindedly, while settling deeper into the couch and opening the bag. _There it was again…_ He thought mesmerized, watching her get situated, and start watching the TV. She really didn’t even know she was doing it, and yet, every time he heard it his heart did some kind of free fall in his chest.

She suddenly looked up at him. “What?” She asked confused. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She questioned. “Do I have something on my face?” She asked rubbing her cheek.

“No, you’re good.” Bellamy said smiling softly, before turning back to the TV and changing the channel once. Before he could continue, she offered him the bag, telling him to try one. He grabbed a green colored bear, and popped it in his mouth. It was cold and hard, but slowly became gummier after a couple of seconds… It was strange, but in a good different kind of way.

Bellamy nodded his head and reached for another one… Yellow this time. Right as Bellamy went to turn the TV channel again Clarke spoke up. “Wait! Can you turn it up for a minute please?” She asked, solely focused on the TV. Bellamy did as she asked, noticing he had flipped the channel to an evening news station.

The head line on the screen read ‘Coming up Later Tonight’. The male announcer was saying in his over dramatic fluctuating voice, _“-later tonight on news at 11… The Collins Crime Family’s notorious Rebel strikes again. This time instead of leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, he brought down a nefarious drug organization, in one fell swoop, in what police are calling one of the biggest drug busts in decades. Tune in later tonight to get a glimpse of the interesting way the police found the criminals subdued when arriving on scene. Up next, puppies… Total terror or terribly cute?”_ He said before the program cut to commercial.

Bellamy looked over to see Clarke biting her lip, supposedly deep in thought. “Have you heard about that?” Bellamy asked cautiously. He wondered what she thought of the whole thing… Was she amused? Disgusted? Appalled?

“Yeah, I saw the news report this morning…” She said distract, but didn’t say anything else.

“And?” Bellamy prompted. He would have given anything, payed any amount of money, at that moment to get a glimpse into her mind, and see what she was truly thinking.

“Man’s got some serious style…” She said grinning up at him. “Always has.” She said shrugging before slipping the remote from his hand and turning the channel.

“You sound like you know him… Do you know who he is?” Bellamy asked confused. It was a little disorienting to be talking about himself like this considering he was the Rebel, but with her, there was a distinction between the lives he led.

She shook her head, still focusing on the TV, and flipping through the channels on the guide. “No, I don’t know him or who he is…” She trailed off. “No one does. The media doesn’t know who he is because he’s crazy good at covering his tracks. I’ve seen some of the things he’s done over the years is all.”

Bellamy wanted to probe her on the subject a bit more, but didn’t, not wanting to draw attention to himself or seem like he was interrogating her. Instead, they settled into the couch further, and began discussing what to watch. It was a tossup between Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory, both of which Bellamy had never seen, so Clarke chose for them to watch Modern Family, and spent the first episode they watched explaining who was who and such. Bellamy found the show to be pretty humorous, but it was Clarke’s witty comment here or there, and her infectious laugh at the antics of the dysfunctional family on screen that really had Bellamy chuckling or laughing. During commercials, they got a feel of each other’s TV watching preferences.

Bellamy found Clarke loved practically all movie types, but action and romantic comedies were her favorite. She liked everything show wise, with the exception of reality TV. She hated reality TV with a passion.

“Okay, so if we were at your place right now,” Clarke said during one such commercial break. “And I turned on your TV, what channel would it be on?” She questioned.

Bellamy thought for a moment… He couldn’t remember if it was on AMC or the History channel. “Unless I don’t want to know…” She said uncertainly, as an afterthought, not getting an immediate answer. Bellamy smirked and shook his head at her.

“Nah, nothing like that. It’s either on the History channel or AMC. I was flipping back and forth between an old western and a documentary on World War 1.” He explained.

“Which one was winning?” She asked amused.

“The documentary.” He said smiling. She nodded thoughtfully.

“So you’re a bigger history nerd than I thought…” She teased. Bellamy grinned and shrugged, but didn’t deny it. He was a bit of a nerd, but only very few people knew that… Yet another inner thing he was sharing with her. He found himself doing that a lot. It was hard to remember he had only known her for one week, to the date exactly. He felt like he had known her forever. There was this easiness when they interacted that he’d never had with anyone without first knowing a person for a while… Like months. The whole thing just blew his mind really.

During the third episode they watched, Clarke leaned into Bellamy’s side more, and gently rested her head on his shoulder. In response, Bellamy slid further down on the sofa a little, so she was more comfortable. Not five minutes later, Bellamy felt Clarke’s whole body relax, and her breathing even out. Carefully looking over, Bellamy saw that his princess was sleeping. Their drinks and the bag of candy had long since been done with, and were sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

Bellamy knew he should probably move her and just leave, but he couldn’t… Not yet. With her sleeping on him like she was, Bellamy could almost pretend like they were a couple and had done this a thousand times before. He sat there for a while longer, just breathing in her addicting scent, and enjoying the feel of her small body curled into his side.

Eventually though, his arm started to fall asleep, and she started to get restless not laying down properly. Bellamy knew she must have been exhausted and he wasn’t about to leave her sleeping on the couch, no matter how nice and soft it was.

He gently moved her off his shoulder, and stood, laying her back down where he was just sitting. He walked into her bedroom area, and removed the decorative pillows on the bed before pulling the comforter and sheet down. He walked back over to her and lifted her swiftly and gently into his arms, hoping not to jostle her too much. She felt so light to him, and fit perfectly in his arms. Her head lolled into the crook of his neck, and she snuggled further into his arms. Dear God, he wasn’t setting her down now. Nope. Not happening. _Oh yes you will you moron, before she wakes up and thinks you’re weird…_ His subconscious told him sternly.

Bellamy slowly walked over to the bed, and laid her down, watching as she curled up on the queen sized bed. She snuggled into her pillow, sighing softly something that sounded like his name, but he couldn’t be sure if it was real or his imagination. Bellamy quickly covered her with the blankets. She was just so beautiful laying there so peacefully, that he couldn’t help himself when he pulled his phone out and took a quick picture. He made sure the flash was off… The lighting from inside the apartment as well as the moonlight filtering in through the window made the picture perfect. She looked absolutely ethereal.

As he began to turn to leave, a thought came to him stopping him in his tracks. Bellamy slowly leaned down and kissed her forehead, his finger coming up involuntarily to brush away the stray wisps of hair surrounding her face. She sighed again, making Bellamy’s heart clench in his chest. He turned and walked over the coffee table, picking up their mess quietly and turning off the TV.

He deposited the bag of candy back into the freezer, and the empty drink containers into the trash. He slipped his shoes on and opened the door to leave. He locked the door knob, before exiting and closing the door softly but firmly behind him. He left and went home to his cold empty desolate apartment, to repeat his miserable lonely routine.

**_XxxX_ **

The next day, as planned, Bellamy was at Clarke’s apartment by 9 AM. She fed him again. A delicious breakfast casserole that he could have sworn was made by a five-star chef. Before they left though, Clarke wanted to take a look at the stiches in Bellamy’s arm. She declared him healed enough to have them taken out if he wanted. After eagerly agreeing, Clarke quickly and painlessly took them out, and cleaned the area thoroughly. She was pleased at how well he had been taking care of the cut on his forehead, which was mostly covered by his messy curls. She teased him about being Harry Potter, and then was astounded when he admitted to having never read the books or watched the movies. She then declared they had to have a Harry Potter marathon when they were done exploring for the day, something Bellamy wasn’t going to turn down… He was spending more time with his princess after all.

Then the pair set off, and spent the first half of the day at Liberty Island, viewing the Statue of Liberty while the remaining part of the day was spent visiting Ellis Island.

Bellamy was reminded throughout the day how much he had loved visiting New York City’s attractions as a child, and learning their history. He felt years of harsh life-and-death decision making and constantly living life under the gun, just melt away. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt his age. He felt 27, not the 40 something year old he acted like the rest of the time. He felt young and alive, all thanks to a spit fire blonde doctor who brought out the playful, carefree, young side of him he didn’t know existed anymore. She had this exuberance for life that he found contagious and desperately wanted for himself, and he hoped she would gradually teach him how to have the same outlook and ardor she had. Her thoughts, when spoken, disarmed him and had him in awe of her. She had this quiet strength about her that spoke of having lived a rough life but not letting those hardships she faced tear her down or keep her from succeeding.

They both had a fantastic time walking arm-in-arm around the monument, and seeing the different views of the city from the edges of the island. Bellamy had even gotten them tickets to go up to the very top of the statue, where the crown was, to get a view from there.

Midday, shortly before they were to get on the ferry to travel to Ellis Island, Clarke has surprised him once again, revealing she had packed them a small picnic to eat during the day in her backpack. So they found a large shady tree, and sat down on the blanket she had packed, to enjoy the cold chicken tenders and potato salad she had made for them way earlier in the morning. She also had a few rolls and a thermos of lemonade that they passed back and forth.

When Bellamy first tasted the potato salad, his first thought was, _Oh dear God, it’s better than Nonni’s._ Followed quickly by, _The boys must never know._ If they knew how heavenly tasting it was, he would never get another bite because his pack of hungry beasts would gobble it all up.

Clarke couldn’t seem to stop blushing when he told her he thought it was better than his grandmother’s, and that was saying something because up ‘til that point, hers had been the best in the world to him. He made her promise to never tell his grandmother that he ever said that. Clarke found it amusing how quickly he devoured his food, and made sure he was full, before packing it all away.

The rest of the day was spent on Ellis Island, where they both enjoyed the walking tour that took them through the building that saw over 12 million immigrants pass through its doors, all searching for a better life in America. Clarke found it funny when Bellamy would correct the tour guide under his breath when the woman would botch a date or fact. She found it fascinating that Bellamy had so many facts memorized like he did, and loved quizzing him on things from the pamphlet.

Once they had done a walk through, they left, and rode the ferry back to Manhattan. It was close to dusk by then, but instead of going back to Clarke’s apartment, Bellamy wanted her to see the Statue of Liberty lit up at night, so Bellamy took Clarke around Battery Park, showing her some of the famous monuments until it got dark outside. Then he steered them toward the bay once again. Once at the railing, Clarke was in awe of Lady Liberty, standing proudly from her pedestal, shining brightly for all to see. After they’d had their fill, they left the park, and headed to Clarke’s apartment, stopping to grab a couple burgers and fries from a restaurant up the road from Clarke’s apartment. Somewhere along the way, Clarke and Bellamy came to an understanding that he could pay the bill, but she would pick up the tip.

Once they reached her apartment, they both headed upstairs with the food and settled in the living room on the couch in front of the TV, as the first Harry Potter movie began playing on the TV. Clarke had grabbed them two sodas to drink, both of which were resting on the coffee table. As they began eating, Bellamy noticed Clarke pick up one of her fries, squeeze it, and then set it down, only to grab another one, squeeze it and eat that one. After she had repeated the process once or twice more, Bellamy finally broke down and asked amused, “What are you doing?”

“I hate the crunchy ones. They’re weird… It’s what I imagine eating a skeleton’s finger is like. They don’t dip in the ketchup right. I like the soft mushy ones a hundred times better… Way more ketchup approved.” She said with a straight face, shrugging her shoulders like she hadn’t just said possibly the funniest, cutest thing Bellamy had ever heard. Bellamy tried not to laugh… He really did, but it didn’t work. He busted out laughing, causing Clarke to slap him on the arm, sending him a sour look and telling him to shush because he was interrupting Harry getting his wand. He was laughing so hard, she started laughing because he was laughing, and before they both knew it, they were doubled over laughing, completely out of breath.

Finally, when they had calmed down and ceased laughing, they both sat back, and resumed their sitting positions on the couch with both of Clarke’s short legs hooked over one of Bellamy’s spread knees, and their food containers on their laps… If they were sitting a little closer than before, neither of them said anything, or made any move to create space.

Bellamy started to silently hand her the soft fries he came across, and in return she handed him the crunchy ‘skeleton’ ones. He didn’t really care about how crunchy or mushy his fries were, but he found it completely endearing that she did.

After that, they finished the first movie, and started on the second movie, before Clarke fell asleep on his shoulder again like the night before. Bellamy finished watching the movie, Clarke’s soft breathing relaxing him to the point of sleep. Before he nodded off all the way though, Bellamy pinched himself to wake up. Like the night before, he scooped her up easily into his arms before tucking her gently in her bed and kissing her on the forehead goodnight. He cleaned up their mess, and left, locking the door behind him.

The drive to his apartment was spent thinking about the next day… He hadn’t decided whether or not to go to church. He knew Clarke was going, like she had every Sunday since she’d found the church after moving to the city. He also knew if he showed up, his grandmother would… Well, she would _know_. She would see straight through him, know everything going on in his head and heart, and then make him admit things he wasn’t quite willing to admit to himself… Not yet anyway. The alternative of missing out on hours, minutes and seconds spent with Clarke however was just something he couldn’t bring himself to do. _I guess the firing squad it is then…_ Bellamy thought morosely, making his mind up to go to church so he wouldn’t have to miss out on time spent with Clarke.

Once he got home, Bellamy silently went through his before bed routine, before heading out to his balcony. He sat down in the lounge chair and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sleep pants. He had numerous messages from the guys, making a ton of plans for the coming week. They had been acting weird ever since he had left the office the day before… Texting him non-stop at all hours of the day and night. They texted him checking in to ‘see how he was doing’, or telling him how awesome they thought he was, or, the most ridiculous encouraging quotes about how ‘life was only just the beginning, and in death lies eternity’ or how ‘great legacies live on in those left behind’. It was some crazy shit like that, that confused the hell out of him… He guessed they had taken his philosophical ‘seize the day’ speech a bit too far. He ignored all of them, and didn’t respond to any of the messages talking about plans for the week, having no inclination to agree to any of them, seeing as how his plans were to spend time with Clarke whenever he could… He needed to get her schedule.

He quickly exited his messages app, and opened his photo app. Bellamy took numerous photos throughout the day, most of them just her, without her knowing he was taking them, and the rest were of them together, and he wanted to look at them all.

One was on the ferry… She had her eyes closed, and had her face tilted at the sky, as if absorbing the sun’s rays. The next one was taken just after that in the same setting except she had turned and opened her gorgeous blue eyes and was looking at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes seeing he was taking pictures. There were a couple blurry ones where they had fought to get the phone, and the button was hit accidently in the scuffle. Then the photos switched to a burst of selfies with the both of them in it. Clarke started out smiling at the camera, her blue eyes gleaming, while Bellamy was… Pouting? _Oh shit…_ He thought taking a closer look. Yep, he, Bellamy Blake, powerful mob Underboss, was pouting at having his phone wrestled from his hands by a surprisingly strong 5’4 woman. As he continued flipping through the pictures, getting rid of the blurry ones, he could almost see the whole thing happening over again like a video re-run. The pout disappeared from his face as he drew closer to her back, and stooped to hook his chin over her shoulder. He remembered wrapping his arms around her small waist and how she had leaned back into his chest automatically, like a reflex. Then there were a few pictures of them both smiling at the camera… They looked good together, very couple-y. Something Bellamy found he liked… Liked a lot. The next photos were of her; one taken of her looking up at the Statue of Liberty, one taken of her looking out of the top of the crown, one of her smiling at him, her cheeks a dusty pink color, as they sat under the shady tree for their picnic, and couple of her making silly faces while they were supposed to be listening to their tour guide.

Bellamy reluctantly closed the app, knowing he had to get some sleep, but first, he had call to make. Hitting the contact name, he waited as the phone rang.

“Hey Bellamy. What can I do for you?”

“I need Clarke’s schedule for this coming week again, Katie.” Bellamy said.

“Fine… I need Miller to come pick me up from my shift all week.” Katie Monroe fired back without hesitation.

“Why?” Bellamy asked, confused.

“Because you need Clarke’s schedule so you can keep planning your dates with her, and I want to see Miller, and he won’t come anywhere near me unless you tell him to.”

“What… How… You…” Bellamy spluttered. “Clarke and I aren’t dating.” Bellamy denied, even if secretly, deep down inside, he wished they were.

“Yeah. Okay. Okay.” She said in a voice that implied she wasn’t even the slightest bit convinced. He could practically hear the eye roll. “And Miller and I are secretly fucking on the down low.” She said crudely, making Bellamy wince. He did not need that image in his head.

“Wait, are you?” Bellamy asked confused.

“No dummy. I just said he won’t come anywhere near me without having you tell him to. He’s too scared of what my brother will do…” She mumbled the last sentence sadly. “Anyway… The point is, we aren’t sleeping together, just like you and Clarke aren’t not dating. You’re dating her dum-dum… Jeez.”

“Okay, firstly, we aren’t dating… We’re just friends. Secondly, your brother and your want-to-be lover have been friends for over a decade and you’re talking about something that could tear that to pieces in a minute… That’s a pretty damn good reason for so much hesitancy on Miller’s part. I know it seems like a pain, but your brother loves you to death, and just wants what’s best for you, so maybe spend some time with him and wear him down, plant some seeds in his mind to okay the relationship. Thirdly…How the hell do you know about what Clarke and I are doing?” He asked stumped.

“Because Clarke has been over the moon the past week at work. She’s been telling just me and Emori about this guy who’s been showing her around New York, and I quote, ‘the sweetest, most caring, gentleman, she’s ever met’. I put two and two together and came up with you. Emori met you and said you guys were so adorably cute it was almost sickening. I take it she has no idea who you are, both the business man and the Underboss?” She questioned gently.

“No…” Bellamy murmured. The warm feeling he’d had in his chest hearing what Clarke had said about him dissipated upon hearing Katie’s question. Clarke didn’t know who he really was… She only knew the façade he put up for her. The words she’d said weren’t the truth… He could pretend all he wanted that he had a heart and a soul, but the reality was, he was a killer with no heart or soul. _That is why you aren’t and won’t date her… She’s too good for you. The minute you tell her, she’ll leave you, or worst, be completely and utterly repulsed by you and everything about you and never speak to you again. You’re just playing house, and it’s you who will be burned in the end… You’ll deserve it, and you know it._ His subconscious whispered.

“What do I do Katie?” He asked helplessly. He couldn’t really talk to anyone about this, but seeing as how Katie was in the same boat, just on the opposite end of the spectrum, he figured he could talk to her.

“I don’t know, Bellamy, I just don’t know. Do you have any idea of what I should do?” She asked in a small voice. “I don’t want to ruin my brother’s friendship, or cause trouble with your guys, but… I just want to be happy, and Miller makes me happy. Is it too much to ask for the two of us to be happy, even if it is only for a little while? Leave the impending apocalypse for another day, ya know?” She asked borderline desperately.

“No, I don’t think it’s too much for you to ask, but I don’t deserve the happiness Clarke gives me. She is so amazing and enchanting Katie, you just can’t even imagine.” Bellamy said shaking his hanging head. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger on the free hand not holding his phone.

“Better be careful Bellamy… You’re close to sounding like a man in love.” She teased lightly. “You say you don’t deserve the happiness Clarke gives you? What about Clarke? Does she not deserve the happiness you give her? Because I do know what an amazing person she is, I talk to her all the time about my situation with my brother and Miller. She gives me the best advice, truly listens to me, and she never judges me or pities me. I consider her one of my closest friends. I know for a fact, Clarke deserves to have whatever makes her happy, even if that’s you. That’s the thing with Miller and I, we are happy when we’re together, but he feels the same way you do about not deserving happiness, and well, the whole thing with my brother.”

Monroe’s words really put things in perspective for Bellamy. While he didn’t deserve to be happy, Clarke sure as hell did, and if he made her happy, then he was sticking around… At least until she didn’t want him around anymore, or left him, and that time would come, probably sooner than he thought. He would deal with whatever emotional fall out came, once it was time to cross that bridge, but for now, he would treasure every bittersweet moment and memory he had with her, like it was handed to him by Jesus Christ himself.

“Listen Katie. I’ll talk to Miller… Do like I said with your brother. Talk to him, he loves you and wants you to be happy, and right now, he doesn’t know you aren’t happy. Can you email me a copy of Clarke’s schedule?”

“Yeah, I’ll send it over when I get in tomorrow night.” She said.

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later.” Bellamy said before hanging up and immediately calling Miller.

Bellamy talked to him for about five minutes telling him he wanted him to pick Katie up from work the coming week. He told Miller how she deserved to be happy, and seeing as how Miller made her happy, he needed to buck up, be a man, and not be afraid to be with her before hanging up, not bothering to wait for a coherent response, or more stuttering.

He got up and headed inside, crawling beneath the cool sheets and drifting off to sleep almost immediately, thinking of the way he held Clarke asleep in his arms while carrying to her bed.

**_XxxX_ **

The next day, Bellamy woke on schedule, and got ready for church quickly, both dreading and anticipating going. He was dreading the looks and inquisition he was going to get from his grandmother, but anticipating seeing his princess again. He was quickly growing accustomed to seeing her every day.

He made it on time to church, and found his grandmother easily. She was holding court with several older women surrounding her, hanging on every word she said… That is until she saw Bellamy standing a couple yards away. Amelia quickly excused herself, and began making her way over to him.

The women she had been talking with turned to watch her every move, and began whispering furiously as they noticed that she was walking over to greet her grandson. It was no secret to Bellamy that all the old biddies wanted him to date one of their many granddaughters… It was no secret because he usually got one of two of them who ‘accidentally’ bumped into him, and mentioned said granddaughter who was coincidentally single, and looking for a ‘nice young man, who was well established’. They were all a bunch of sharks who smelled fresh blood, and began to circle… It was unfortunate that he was the fresh blood. He’d had a few of the more cunning one’s try to use his grandmother to get an introduction… Never worked.

“ _Bambino_ , what are you doing here?” His grandmother said hugging him tightly. “Not that I’m not overjoyed to see you.” She said quickly as she pulled away

Before Bellamy could say anything… excuse, explanation, fib, lie, reason… whatever to get out of the ‘talk’ he was sure to get if he gave the truth, he noticed Clarke walking up the sidewalk. Her hair in a neat bun. She was wearing a deep purple wrap dress that covered the top of her shoulders, with black heels and a black clutch hand bag and a black bible in her hand. He assumed she had parked her car around the block. Amelia noticed where her grandson’s attention was drawn, and saw Clarke. She slowly turned her head to look at Bellamy, the grin that was slowly spreading across her face was positively smug. Bellamy gulped because first of all, her facial expression and movements were kind of creepy, second of all, he knew he was in for it now… No escaping her.

Amelia had to clamp down on the sudden urge she had to jump for joy… Her old bones would be hurting later if she did. Instead, she settled for waving Clarke over, all the while delighting in having her wish come true as well as having the scene unfold right in the line of sight of her gossipy friends, who were constantly trying to ensure one of their desperate granddaughters bagged her multi-billionaire grandson. Vultures, the lot of them.

Clarke grinned, waved back, and began walking over.

“Nonni, where is everyone else?” Bellamy asked quickly, suddenly worried about being spotted by his father and uncle.

“Uh… Marcus is away on business, and Damian and the family are home with Finn… Still sick with that ‘flu’.” His grandmother said distractedly, doing hand quotes around the flu… That was the cover story for Finn’s withdrawal symptoms.

Clarke had reached them by then, and Amelia quickly hugged her before Bellamy swooped in to kiss her cheek… In for a penny, in for a pound. Bellamy could practically feel the glares directed toward them. Taking a quick look up, confirmed his suspicions of being under intense scrutiny by his grandmother’s old cronies. He wondered if Clarke felt it. Looking at her, he couldn’t find any outward signs that showed she felt the hostility being directed at her.

“How are you _il mio bel fiore_ (my beautiful flower)?” His grandmother asked brightly. _Actually, she’s an angel, Nonni, or a princess… Whichever._ Bellamy mentally corrected his grandmother.

“I’m doing wonderfully today, Amelia. Ready for the service?” Clarke asked radiantly.

“I sure am. Will you sit with us today dear?” His grandmother asked.

“Of course.” Clarke agreed easily.

“Let’s go find our seats then ladies.” Bellamy said smoothly, offering each woman one of his arms. They both took it, and the three of them began walking inside, but to get inside, they had to pass right by the salty old hags still whispering to each other viciously. Clarke was closest to them, and Bellamy had the over whelming urge to move Clarke away from them… As though their unkind thoughts would cause her bodily harm. While he couldn’t physically put himself between his princess and the threat like he wanted to do, he settled for moving his arm around her and pulling her more securely into his side while throwing the women a deadly glare over her head. Clarke gave him a confused look when he tensed passing them and pulling her closer, but didn’t pull away or say anything.

He immediately relaxed once they were safely in the church. His grandmother leaned up on her toes so she was closer to his ear and whispered, “I saw that.”

Bellamy shot her a look, and checked to make sure Clarke didn’t notice. She didn’t. They stopped at the pew his grandmother usually sat at, and they filed in, but before they sat, his grandmother, who would have sat between Clarke and Bellamy, asked to switch with Clarke so she was sitting on the outside… Claimed there was a draft that kept her cool in the stifling cathedral. Clarke agreed easily, and ended up being the one sitting in the middle. The wink his grandmother sent his way let him know that was a concocted story to ensure he sat by Clarke… Something he was both grateful for and slightly mortified by.

Bellamy threw his arm across the back of the pew behind Clarke and his grandmother, and rested his left ankle on his knee. All three settled into the pew, ready for the sermon.

Roughly an hour later, Father Peter wrapped up his sermon and dismissed the congregation. They all filed out of the church. Bellamy was walking a couple feet behind his grandmother and Clarke, both of which were walking arm in arm, talking in hushed tones. They were both stopped however by someone stepping in their path, blocking them.

Myles Sanders… A short, slim man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, maybe 24 or so. He was Father Peter’s nephew or great-nephew… Something like that. He was quite possibly the biggest suck up Bellamy had ever met, and that was saying something. He knew all the right lines to say, and used his position as a relative of the clergy to his advantage any chance he got. He had inherited a pretty successful small shipping company from his dad, and had tried to get into business with Bellamy, but Bellamy refused. Bellamy already had his own large shipping fleet, boats, trucks, planes, you name it, so he didn’t need Myles and his small fry company. Bellamy had to hand it to the kid, he took rejection well… Didn’t stop Bellamy from thinking the guy was a grade-A douche though.

“Hello, Mrs. Collins.” Myles said in a cheerful voice. “Lovely day yes? Oh and who is this marvelous creature?” He said with fake surprise upon looking at Clarke, son of a gun was fishing for an introduction.

“This is my grandson’s incredible friend, Doctor Clarke Griffin.” His grandmother said the introduction pointedly, with a sickly sweet voice. Amelia pointedly brought Bellamy up so Myles knew she was off limits. She didn’t need Smarmy McSuave over here messing up her plans to get Clarke and her clueless grandson together… Over her dead body that would happen.

 _That’s my cue…_ Bellamy thought hearing his grandmother’s words, and proudly stepped forward to Clarke’s side so she was standing in-between him and his grandmother. Myles was still holding her hand from their hand shake, and he could see Clarke trying to discreetly pull her hand from his clammy ones. Bellamy put his hand on the small of Clarke’s back, and spoke drawing Myles’s attention to him so Clarke could get her hand free without causing too much of a scene.

“Sanders… How’s the fiancé?” Bellamy asked with ice in his voice, hitting the man right where it hurt. No one touched his princess inappropriately like Myles had just done, making her uncomfortable, and not have Bellamy doing something about it. Myles released Clarke’s hand making her relax more into his side and pulling further away from Myles… He was starting to notice Clarke did not like strangers being near her or touching her… She was always polite, but she was definitely wary of them. He would have never known of course, with the way she was when they had first met and started interacting, but it pleased him to no end that he was different from the very beginning, and she had felt safe with him.

“Wouldn’t know… Ran off with the help.” Myles said. Bellamy of course knew this… Everyone did. Bellamy could see the underlying anger in the man’s gaze as he tried shrugging it off like it was nothing.

“Pity.” Bellamy said coolly with no real meaning or emotion behind the word. “Nonni, Clarke, why don’t you go to the car. I’ll be there in just a moment.” He said to the two women not looking away from Myles who was watching the exchanges intently, trying to figure out what was going on. Bellamy saw his grandmother nod out of the corner of his eye. She knew Bellamy was going to have words with Myles. Clarke on the other hand squeezed his bicep, prompting Bellamy to look down into the concerned gaze of his princess.

“It’s okay.” Bellamy said quietly. “Just some business I wanted to speak to him about.” He assured her quickly kissing her temple. She nodded, satisfied by his words. He handed his keys to her before telling her where he parked.

“Okay.” She said throwing one last wary look at Myles before allowing his grandmother to lead her away.

Once they were out of hearing distance, Myles made yet another mistake by opening his mouth. “You tapping that Blake?” He asked, gazing after Clarke. “Because if not, I will gladly step in and fill the roll.”

If they hadn’t been standing in broad daylight, with numerous people milling around in their direct vicinity, Bellamy would have beat the shit out of the smaller man before shooting him for his words… No one disrespected her like that. Instead, he had to settle for discreetly gut punching the man, causing Myles to hunch over with the force of the hit, wheezing. Bellamy held him up so he didn’t fall and hit the sidewalk and whispered menacingly, “Say one more word about or to her, and you’re a dead man. Don’t look at her, talk to her, walk by her… Hell don’t even think her name. You do, and I’ll crush you like the insignificant little bug you are. You got me?”

Myles nodded fervently, terrified. Bellamy let the man go and turned to walk away, noticing he got a couple of curious looks. He hardly cared… Bigger fish to fry and all that.

He quickly made his way to his running car, and slipped into the driver seat. His grandmother was in the passenger seat, and Clarke was sitting in the back. He could see her perfectly through the rear view mirror. “So where are we headed to ladies?” Bellamy asked smoothly.

“Hmm… I would love a nice steak. Haven’t had one of those in a while. What do you say Clarke?” His grandmother asked turning to look at Clarke.

“Sounds good to me.” She said smiling.

“Alright.” Bellamy said easily, mentally running through a list of restaurants in his head ‘til he came across one he liked. It was a pretty posh steakhouse over in Tribeca.

The drive was spent discussing the places Bellamy had taken Clarke to so far, and what Clarke enjoyed most about them. Amelia made a few suggestions of places she thought Clarke would love to see.

Conversation flowed easily throughout lunch. It was mostly Clarke and Amelia talking and sharing stories while Bellamy chimed in every once in a while with a comment here and there. Amelia told stories about her days as an actress, and then meeting Bellamy’s grandfather one night after a performance. She left out the part of him being a Mafia Don of course. She told Clarke about how now she teaches private piano lessons to children and teenagers. Clarke explained her ambitions to become a pediatric surgeon in a year’s time, and how she skipped a couple grades in school, and that’s how she was only 25 and already so advanced in her field.

Bellamy couldn’t help the feelings of contentment and happiness that unfurled in his chest at the sight of the two women getting along and interacting so wonderfully. The woman who had been his rock for most of his life and the woman who was slowly and quickly, all at once, becoming the most important person in his world, had such an amazing connection that he could see meant the world to each of them.

After they finished lunch, Bellamy drove back to the church so each woman could get their car. Bellamy parked and walked around the car to open their doors for them. Bellamy and Clarke ended up walking his grandmother to her car seeing as how it was closer.

“Clarke, _caro_ _(dearest)_ , are you free Thursday night?” His grandmother asked sweetly. Bellamy stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his grandmother like she was crazy. Thursday was their dinner night… _Did she forget?_ Bellamy thought before mentally scoffing. She didn’t forget… She never forgot, unlike the one time he did and got an hour lecture on the merits of being where he says he’s going to be that morphed into an hour lecture on how he hurt her heart by forgetting about her, that ended with Bellamy visiting her every day for a week in his attempt to make up for it. No one could do a guilt trip like Amelia Collins.

Clarke nodded. “Would you mind terribly, coming to visit an old woman and having dinner with me?” His grandmother asked squeezing Clarke’s arm that they had looped together. Bellamy was stunned. She had invited someone to Thursday dinner… No one had ever been invited to Thursday dinner. Not one of the guys, his uncle, or even his father. This was huge.

“Of course Amelia… I would love to.” Clarke said fervently.

“Great!” His grandmother exclaimed happily. “Bellamy will pick you up okay?”

“Wait… Bellamy’s coming?” Clarke asked confused looking up at him. Bellamy had to admit… It kind of hurt she sounded like she didn’t want him there. Maybe he was suffocating her? Maybe he’s bugging her and aggravating her, and she’s tired of him? Maybe he should lay off and give her some distance?

“Yes… He comes over for dinner with me every Thursday. Has for years.” His grandmother said, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not.” Clarke said like the idea was utterly ridiculous, relaxing Bellamy and his swirling self-deprecating thoughts a bit. “It’s just, I don’t want to mess with your routine… It sounds important, and I don’t want to intrude.” She said uncertainly.

 _Jesus, help me._ Bellamy thought, gazing at the woman who was so remarkable, she didn’t want to intrude on a longstanding tradition he had with his grandmother.

“Non-sense _miele_ _(honey)_. I wouldn’t have invited you if I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted you there.” His grandmother reassured Clarke.

“Yeah Princess… I don’t bite.” Bellamy teased.

“Oh I know…” Clarke said smiling at him, ribbing him gently with her elbow. “You’re harmless. Like a cute little baby deer.” She said with a baby voice while pinching his cheek playfully. Bellamy smirked and gently batted her hand away, rolling his eye fondly at her.

Bellamy turned and watched as his grandmother’s eyes shifted back and forth rapidly between the pair and their teasing flirting… A dreamy sigh escaping her before she could stop it while looking at Clarke. When Amelia caught Bellamy’s narrowed gaze, she widened her eyes dramatically, shrugging, before turning back to Clarke with a normal face to discuss what she should make for dinner on Thursday. It was like she was saying, _What!? With an exchange like that, I can dream of my blue eyed, black haired grandbabies all I want to. They’re gorgeous by the way._

Finally, after both Clarke and Bellamy promised to be at dinner on Thursday, Amelia left with a hug for each of them. Once she was gone, Bellamy let out a huge sigh of relief, making Clarke giggle. “Have I mentioned I think your grandmother is awesome?” She asked playfully.

Bellamy grinned. “Maybe once or twice.” He replied. He was so relieved Clarke had such a fondness for his grandmother. It took one hell of a person to keep up with her that was for sure.

“So what are you doing for the rest of the day?” She inquired as they began walking towards her car.

“Um… I dunno. Work I guess.” He said shrugging. There wasn’t anything really important to do work wise… He was in a sort of cool off period after having acquired that huge deal last week. No mafia business to do. He was at a loss. “What about you?” He asked.

“I need to go to shopping and get some groceries to last me the week. Then I’ll probably head home, cook some dinner, and relax before my work week starts tomorrow.” She said. “You could join me if you want to…” She trailed of hesitantly. “I understand if you’re really busy, or if you need a break.”

“A break?” He asked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we’ve spent practically the whole weekend together, and I don’t want you to get tired of me. If you need space, or you don’t want to hang out with me, I want you to tell me.” She said blushing looking at the ground.

Bellamy was shocked… Again. Here she was telling him she had the same worries he’d had not five minutes ago. “I promise to tell you, but I don’t think I’m going to need to. I love spending time with you. You’d tell me if you needed space, right?”

“Yes, I would,” She said nodding, looking up at him. “But I don’t think I’m going to need to.” She said gently, echoing his words, making Bellamy’s heart stop and start again at a faster pace.

“Good, we’re at an agreement then. I’ll follow behind you to the store okay?” He asked as they reached her car. She nodded and got in, starting her car. Bellamy quickly jogged over to his car, and they were off. He hated shopping, especially for groceries… It reminded him of when he was a kid, and his grandmother would drag him around the store for hours, only to buy like three items. It just wasn’t his cup of tea, but he wondered if Clarke could change that like she seemed to do with just about everything else about him. He was willing to give it a shot.

Once they reached the store, parked and walked in, Bellamy was lost. He couldn’t remember the last time he had to go grocery shopping… Years for sure. Thankfully Clarke seemed to have a list that she was going off of. Clarke, noticing Bellamy’s uncertainty, promptly put him in charge of pushing the cart and following behind her, something Bellamy was more than happy to do… Gave him ample time to check out her ass, which was absolutely sinful in that dress.

They walked right past a display of flowers first thing, prompting Bellamy to ask what her favorite flower was.

“I don’t really have one. I love all flowers because they’re beautiful, but the meaning behind them is what I focus on more. To me, it indicates how much thought people put into the act of buying and giving flowers. For instance, marigolds mean grief, cruelty and jealousy while white roses mean purity and innocence. It’s just fascinating to me.” She said grabbing three bananas from the produce section. Bellamy took note, and filed away that tidbit of information for later.

As they traveled up and down the aisles, Bellamy learned a bit more about Clarke’s eating habits, and found that while she wasn’t a junk food addict, she was no nutrition fanatic either. She had a nice balance between both.

“What do you want for dinner?” She asked while they were looking at the poultry.

“Whatever you can cook. Seriously, anything will be great. I know it’ll be ten times better than take out.” He said, thinking that that would be what he would have been eating if not for her feeding him her delicious food.

“Okay… I’m thinking either chicken and dumplings or chicken and rice. Pick.” She said grabbing the selection of meat she wanted.

“Dumplings please.” Bellamy said smiling, imagining what they were going to taste like.

“Dumplings it is then.” She said in amusement, watching him.

They continued shopping, and came to the ice cream coolers. Clarke perused the selections before spotting what she was looking for with a little ‘Aha.’ She pulled two containers out and plopped them in the buggy with a wink at Bellamy, and turned, sauntering off to grab milk. Bellamy looked down to see the two containers were different flavors… Chocolate chip cookie dough and… Mint Chocolate chip. Though it sounded ridiculous, the small gesture meant more to him than words could convey. He took it as she liked him being around, wanted to show him that he was welcome in her home, and it was proof she listened to everything he said… Even the menial things.

 _Great…_ Bellamy thought sarcastically. _I’ve gone crazy… I am now insane. Dear God, someone help me, I’ve gone soft. She’ll be the death of me. Oh but what a lovely death it’ll be._ He mentally sighed watching her bend down to look at the date on the milk. Right then, a little boy, 2 or 3 years old, bumped into Clarke’s legs while running around the corner and wobbled a bit. She quickly reached down to settle him before he fell. Bellamy drew nearer to hear what was being said.

“-can’t find my mommy. Please can you help?” He said crying pitifully. Clarke quickly bent down, being mindful of the dress she was wearing, and wiped the little boy’s tears with her thumbs.

“Shh sweetheart. Of course I will. Come on, mommy is probably looking for you all over.” Clarke cooed to the little boy, quieting his cries, reducing him to little sniffles. She guided him off towards the front of the store, telling Bellamy she would be back in just a moment. A minute or so later, an announcement came over the intercom stating little Seth was looking for his mother. There was a shout from somewhere in the store before crying was heard again, this time from a woman. Clarke appeared soon after stating the little boy was returned safely, and all was well.

“You’re amazing Princess.” Bellamy said grinning at her, making her blush. She knew exactly what to do, and somehow kept the kid calm. She was a miracle worker.

“I’m starting to think your trying to make me blush beat red, Bellamy Blake.” Clarke said narrowing her eyes at him. “If you are, all I can tell you is wait. I’m going to get so many embarrassing stories from your grandmother, you won’t be able to look me in the eye for a week without me laughing my butt off.” She threatened.

Bellamy held his hands up in surrender, not saying a thing.

They finished shopping and headed back to Clarke’s apartment. Clarke remarked how it was kind of nice to have a man carry all the groceries in all at once, and not do it all by herself in several trips, making Bellamy grin like the loon he was rapidly becoming. Clarke changed into a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirt and told Bellamy to make himself comfortable, so he lost his suit jacket, tie, and button down shirt, leaving him in his dress pants and plain white T-shirt that he wore under his button down. Bellamy watched as she began putting all the groceries away… Every box, package and container having a spot. They watched the third Harry Potter movie, and then as promised, Clarke cooked them dinner, giving him menial tasks that kept him busy in the kitchen with her and made him feel like he was helping at the same time… As cheesy as it sounds, she made him feel important.

After they had finished eating the most delicious chicken and dumplings he’d ever had, and cleaned the kitchen, they both settled on the couch to finish their Harry Potter marathon. Somehow over the course of the fourth, fifth, and sixth movie, they settled into a comfortable position where they were laid out on opposite ends of the couch. Clarke had her knees bent in front of her with one of her many sketch books resting on her thighs as she casually drew while watching the movie. Bellamy was stretched out on the opposite end, his ankles crossed by her hip, and his hands resting behind his head. He didn’t notice Clarke discreetly catching glimpses of him before she started drawing again.

“Hey Bell?” She asked distractedly. Bellamy looked at her. His stomach flipping hearing her use her special nickname for him. Ever since Friday, introducing him to her neighbor, she had used it off and on. She tended to switch back and forth between his full name and his shortened nickname, and he couldn’t find a pattern for it. It was just random. He swore up and down she didn’t realize she used it, but every time he heard it, his stomach flip flopped. He kind of wanted her to use it all the time, but enjoyed the way she said his full name too much to ask her to continue to shorten it.

“Yes Princess?”

“What are some of your quirks?” She asked looking up at him from her drawing.

“Umm… I dunno. I’m ambidextrous. That’s one I guess. I get brain freezes easily. Does that count?” He asked. She nodded. “Oh, and Jell-O freaks me out… Pudding is fine, just no Jell-O.” She nodded thoughtfully. “What about you Princess?” He asked.

“Uh… I brush my teeth in the shower because I feel like it saves time, I tend to draw doodles on any piece of random paper in front of me, and I can’t be allowed near stray animals, because I’ll take them all home.” She said, drawing again. Bellamy smiled… He could easily see her wanting to take a stray kitten home and nurture it.

Eventually, Clarke fell asleep around 11, as they were watching Modern Family again. Bellamy smiled as he took the pencil from her limp fingers. He set it on the table, and grabbed her sketch book off her lap. He didn’t mean to… he really didn’t… but he noticed what she had been drawing. Him, again. He looked so relaxed and at home… Happy. She was such an amazing artist, he didn’t know how anyone, much less her mother, could put such a beautiful person, both on the inside and outside, down and criticize her. Bellamy hoped he never met the woman… There would be words if he did.

He regretfully closed the book and slipped it on the coffee table next to the pencil. How he wanted to steal it away and treasure it, purely because it was something she made and because of the way she saw him. He picked her up, causing her to stir. “Bell?” She asked in the sweetest sleep laden voice he had ever heard.

“Shhh Princess… Go back to sleep.” He whispered.

“M’kay.” She said before laying her head against his chest and pressing her forehead against his neck as one of her hands fell to rest against his chest. Bellamy couldn’t resist kissing the top of her head. She was so warm and soft, and she smelled so wonderful. He tucked her in, and kissed her forehead before turning off the TV and the lights, locking her door, and leaving.

He got home and checked his email before going to bed, seeing one from Katie with Clarke’s schedule. He fell asleep smiling, anticipating what was sure to be an interesting week with his angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I kinda expect a crap ton of comments (More than usual ;) ) to flood in telling me how much you all loved the guys, Bellarke, and Nonni, and I know you all won't disappoint. What did you think about the guys jumping to the conclusion that Bellamy is dying (He's not btw)? What do you think they're gonna do? Was I right in the warning with fluff levels I cautioned you all on for the Bellarke? What about Katie? Did anyone yell "Thank you Jesus" when she told Bellamy he was being an idiot for believing he didn't deserve Clarke and the happiness she brought him? Don't forget Nonni... I love writing her. She's so fiery. Was anyone rolling on the floor by the end?  
> -Redhead17x  
>  Spoilers for next Chapter... Thursday dinner with Nonni, the guys meet Clarke, and there is several more freak outs.


	14. Crazy Zoo Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys... So this is definitely my longest chapter thus far. Seriously... Over 18k words! Jeez... Have fun reading this monster. Also, there is an important authors note at the end I recommend reading :/
> 
> Warning: Like last week, this chapter is pretty funny and super cute, so I suggest reading when no one is around... Just so they don't think your crazy for laughing like a hyena at some of these scenes. Also, probably not wise to read in class... I had a reader get in trouble for that last week ;)  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 14- Crazy Zoo Days**

The work week passed by slowly it seemed, and Bellamy couldn’t have been more grateful. Clarke worked 12 hour shifts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

Monday found Clarke having a horribly bad day at work, so Bellamy decided to surprise her by bringing her lunch from her favorite sub shop up the street, near the hospital. The look of awe, gratitude, and adoration on her face when she saw him, made his chest ache so bittersweetly… So did the kiss on the cheek and the tight hug she gave him. In an effort to have the day look up, Bellamy asked her if she wanted to go visit Chinatown that night after her shift, but made sure she knew they could go another time if she was tired. She did want to go, and so they spent the night walking the streets of Chinatown, enjoying the shops and culture on display. They ate dinner at a restaurant they found that sounded appetizing while out walking around, before Bellamy took her home promising to come back to the little neighborhood another time, during the day.

Tuesday, they had lunch again, and the same on Wednesday. She invited him over for a delicious dinner of Chicken Alfredo and a movie on Wednesday at lunch. That night they watched her favorite rom-com movie, The Proposal. Bellamy found it amusing how she could quote lines word for word, and sighed so contently when the guy at the end gave his little cheesy speech/proposal.

Thursday, seeing as how it was Clarke’s day off, they went out for lunch instead of eating in the hospital cafeteria like they had the rest of the week, before Bellamy returned to work. After work he went and picked her up for dinner with his grandmother. He laughed when she answered the door waving a CD around, grinning ear to ear, saying today was the day he expanded his music knowledge and horizons… She had made him a mix CD.

They spent the whole ride discussing the music she had so carefully selected for him to listen to, and Bellamy found he loved each and every song that played. He had never enjoyed the hour long drive to his grandmother’s house as much as he did that day, with Clarke in the passenger seat beside him.

Turns out having Clarke at dinner was a brilliant distraction. His grandmother was all over Clarke, and didn’t have the time to question him on why he had been at church on Sunday, or why he hadn’t been returning her calls all week… Even though he was pretty sure she knew why. He was also pretty sure he was in for the lecture of his life when she did end up cornering him alone like he knew she would, but he couldn’t seem to give the issue as much caution and mindfulness he knew it rightfully warranted. All he knew to do was evade her for as long as possible, and hope with all his might that reality would be better than what his imagination was conjuring up.

Dinner went off without a hitch, not that Bellamy expected anything different. His grandmother sent him knowing looks all evening that seemed to say, _I know,_ or, _You’re a goner,_ or, Y _ou just_ _wait ‘til I get my hands on you, I’m going to enjoy extracting every little morsel of information out of that big head of yours._ Frankly, the looks were terrifying, and would have had a lesser man ducking for cover and running for the hills, but all he had to do was look at Clarke, and he automatically thought, _It’s worth it… She’s worth it._

Amelia loved showing Clarke around her home and Clarke was in awe of the house and its beauty… The solarium was her favorite room by far she said, which pleased his grandmother to no end. Clarke seemed to love hearing the history behind it too. When his grandmother showed her the fancy sitting room, Clarke asked Bellamy if it was the room he broke the vase in as a kid, starting his grandmother on the story all over again, but with her dramatic flair that had Clarke doubled over laughing.

When it came time to leave, Amelia asked if Clarke had next Thursday night off, prompting her to sadly tell the older woman she didn’t. She had the night shift at the hospital, but she had Tuesday off, and would love if they could do lunch, or maybe dinner at her apartment. Amelia said she would love to have both if possible, seeing as how she was going to be in the city for the day running errands and attending meetings, and so plans were made for the two women to have lunch and then dinner later. They both offered for Bellamy to join them, and while he declined the lunch invitation, he accepted the dinner one. He figured they would want some time without him, so he made up some meeting he had that day during his lunch hour.

The next day, Clarke and Bellamy had lunch again, but at a little café by the hospital. They had dinner that night and Bellamy took her to the High Line, which is a linear park built in Manhattan on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line. She loved it, and they had a wonderful time walking around, watching as the sun set, before Bellamy took her home. He stayed until she fell asleep while they were watching Modern Family, before tucking her into bed and taking his leave with a kiss on her temple.

Saturday morning, as Bellamy drove to Clarke’s apartment to pick her up for their day at the Bronx Zoo, he thought over his week, and how extraordinarily happy he was. It was hard to think that a little over two weeks ago, he was living a terribly miserable, lonely existence with no hope for the future just darkness, blood, death, and grief, and now, he had all the hope in the world for the brightest of futures with his beautiful princess. His company was thriving. Everything on the Mafia side was quiet after his huge drug bust, no one wanting to incur the wrath of the Rebel, and lastly, he got to see Clarke. Life was good.

The only concerning thing at that moment was… Well, his guys. They had been acting ridiculously bizarre all week… Some were clingy, namely Jasper and Murphy, while others had kept their distance, namely Monty and Lucca. Jasper and Murphy had taken to silently working every day in Bellamy’s office for hours on end and only leaving when Bellamy ordered them away so he could sneak out for lunch with his princess. They always came back though in the afternoon and stayed ‘til he went home. He had to stop Jasper from following him into the bathroom at one point. He saw Monty and Lucca in the lobby on Tuesday in a heated whisper discussion, and decided to approach them to see what was going on. Upon seeing him, both guys got a little teary eyed, and turned, running from him off toward the elevators. Bellamy hadn’t seen nor heard from either of them since. He had been getting strange looks from Diego, Miller, and Antonio all week… They were almost pitying and sorrowful looks. Romeo had been very attentive, coming to visit Bellamy in his office two or three times a day to check and see if he needed anything. Like he said… Bizarre. He knew he’d been neglecting them a bit, but not too terribly bad to warrant such crazy behavior.

Bellamy pushed those thoughts away, vowing to deal with the lot later, as he pulled up in front of Clarke’s apartment, and parked. He had taken to going up stairs to her apartment when he picked her up and dropped her off. He like ensuring she was safe in her apartment before he left her for the night, even though she was never alone… Sterling was always watching, and doing a damn good job of it too. He was proud of the younger man, and was going to be very happy when the time came to add him to the Family. As he made his way up stairs and down the hall toward her door, the sound of loud playing pop music reached his ears until he stood in front of Clarke’s door identifying it as the source of the noise. The chick singing the song was singing something about really, really liking someone.

Bellamy knocked once on the door, not getting a response. He knocked again, and still nothing. He figured she couldn’t hear him over the loud music. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted, finding it unlocked. He pushed the door open and poked his head inside, smiling while taking in the captivating scene before him.

There was his princess, dancing, jumping and twirling around her apartment to the beat of the music, singing along with the lyrics. Bellamy opened the door wider and slipped in to the apartment closing the door quietly behind him and grinned while leaning against the door, settling in for the show. She was wearing a cute light blue sundress with straps that showed off her shoulders. The dress had a sweetheart neck line that emphasized her bust perfectly but modestly. It had ivory designs at the bottom of the dress along the hemline and along the straps on her shoulders. She was barefoot with her hair hanging in loose curls down her back. She had yet to turn see him, and he wondered what her reaction would be turning and seeing him standing there. Would she stop and act embarrassed at having been caught? Or would she continue? He didn’t have a clue… She always did the unexpected; it was never the predictable with Clarke, and for that he was oh so grateful.

He didn’t have to wait long though. She was jumping and dancing on the couch when she turned and saw him, but instead of screaming or jumping in surprise or fright, she just grinned at seeing him, like she always did. She jumped over the back of the couch and danced over to him, grabbing his hand pulling him in to dance with her. He started chuckling, as she continued to dance and sing using him to twirl her around the room. While he wasn’t doing a whole lot of the dancing, he was trying, and she had everything to do with that. She danced around him, making his smile and laugh with some of her moves, and he’d join in.

_It's way too soon, I know this isn't love_

_But I need to tell you something_

She sang, pausing and stilling after singing the word something as the music stopped, before the music picked up again almost immediately.

_I really really really really really really like you_

_And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?_

_I really really really really really really like you_

_And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?_

She sang as she began jumping up and down in place with her hands is the air, throwing her hair around in time with the reallys.

There came a part of the song where the music slowed… The singer began speaking instead of singing. Clarke continued to say the words with the woman, but far more serious than she had been the moments before when she was laughing and dancing with him.

_Who gave you eyes like that?_

_Said you could keep them?_

_I don't know how to act_

_Or if I should be leaving_

_I'm running out of time_

_Going out of my mind_

_I need to tell you something_

_Yeah, I need to tell you something_

Clarke had come closer, no longer dancing. The song had pause while the woman said something about being pregnant, but Bellamy was too focused on Clarke mouthing something to him that he didn’t catch. God how he wanted to know what she’d said!! But he couldn’t ask with the music picking back up again, repeating the chorus, and so he was forced to drop it.

They danced through two more songs after the first. Finally, the both collapsed on her bed, laughing and out of breath. Bellamy had never done something as fun and simple as dancing around to upbeat music before, simply because he’d had no reason to, but with Clarke, he had every reason to.

After they had caught their breath, Clarke hopped up and began searching for her pair of nude flats to go with her dress, which she eventually found after ten full minutes of looking. She found them under the couch, saying “This is why I take my shoes off at the front door. If I don’t, I tend to lose them before they get to my closet. I found a pair of my converses hanging from my ceiling fan one time.” Bellamy just grinned. She really was too cute for her own good sometimes.

They left her apartment and headed down stairs, Clarke almost bouncing on her toes from excitement, going through her mental list of animals to see, out loud for Bellamy to hear.

“Elephants and giraffes… Oh don’t forget the lions, and tigers, and bears…” She listed off. _Oh my._ Bellamy thought, smiling to himself as they drove off.

**_XxxX_ **

That same morning, across the city, Miller leaned casually against his car in the parking garage of Bellamy’s apartment building waiting for the rest of the guys. He scanned the text message he’d gotten that morning from Murphy.

_Meet at Bellamy’s place @11 AM. It’s time we sit him down and let him know that we know that he’s sick. I can’t take this anymore… I want to squeeze the stuffing out of him every time I see him. –J. Murphy_

Miller had to admit that the Boss had been acting weird as of late… Chipper almost. Miller had even caught the man smiling to himself on more than one occasion, freaking out the people in the room with him. According to Diego, he smiled the other day in a meeting with the finance department while looking at something on his phone, a full blown smile, and one man had a heart attack. He was fine of course, but the point was, Bellamy Blake never smiled unless one of his boys did something he genuinely found outrageously funny, or something bad was about to happen. Even then he might smirk, or his lips would twitch into a semblance of a smile. You might as well forget about laughing. That happened, MAYBE twice a year... Maybe.

Normally, when Jasper and Murphy came up with a ridiculous theory or idea, Miller was usually the first to make the group see sense and refute whatever preposterous thing that they thought up with fact and logic, but last Friday, he had no facts or logic, that made sense, to back him up, and well… Their idea didn’t seem that far off, compared to the alternative. Everyone knew Bellamy didn’t do relationships, so the thought that he was in love with some chick was complete and sheer ludicrousness… Definitely more likely he was dying. The phone call he got from Bellamy last Saturday night telling him to pick Katie up from work for the coming week, and to make her happy, and to not screw it up, was pretty much the last nail in the coffin and confirmed the whole dying thing for him.

He sounded like a man trying to make things right before he died. It was a terrible phone call that had kept him up, replaying over and over in his mind, every single night for the last week. He could hardly even focus on what was going on with Katie, because he was so distracted, worrying that his boss and friend, the man who had saved him, given him a second chance, and a whole family to with it, was dying. While he might not recognize it, Bellamy was their heart and soul… Where he went, the boys followed, it was truly just that simple. What were they supposed to do without him? He really couldn’t even fathom the thought.

Speaking of the boys, Jasper’s Jeep, Murphy’s bike, Lucca’s Range Rover and Diego’s McLaren 675LT, pulled into the garage. Jasper and Monty hoped out of the Jeep, Murphy got off his bike, Lucca and Romeo got out of the Range Rover, and Antonio and Diego got out of the McLaren. They all unloaded loudly, but that was nothing new.

“So what’s the plan?” Lucca asked, eating a taco. “And why the hell are we here so early?” He asked disdainfully with a full mouth after taking a huge bite.

“We go talk to him, dum-dum.” Murphy said. “And it’s eleven in the morning… It’s not early at all. Why are you eating a taco?”

“Why aren’t YOU eating a taco is the question…” Lucca retorted. It would have been a pretty good comeback except for the fact he had another mouth full of food, making his words garbled.

“Better question, where did you get said taco?” Jasper asked curiously, eyeing the taco hungrily.

“Best question of all… Do you have another?” Monty asked hopefully.

Romeo grabbed a couple of big Taco Bell bags out of his back seat and held it up. “Brunch, boys.”

Miller couldn’t count how many tacos were in the bags if he tried, seeing as how they were all scarfing them down one by one like it was their last meal. They were all very much still growing boys. After a good ten minutes of nothing but eating, and a brief round of arm wrestling between Diego, who was a huge guy with mountains for arms, and Jasper, who had little twig arms in comparison to Diego, over the last taco, they were ready to go. They walked over to the elevator, and pressed the button calling it.

Jasper glared at Diego cradling his arm against his chest like he was hurt, as Diego smugly ate his taco, slowly making a show of chewing and savoring it. Jasper sighed heavily… He’d had like 10 or 11 tacos before that. Miller couldn’t tell why he was so sad about that one taco. It was probably just the fact that he lost the arm wrestling match, and his pride was hurt.

As the elevator dinged and opened, they all loaded in and Antonio pressed his thumb to the scanner starting it up. Miller, Diego, and Antonio were the only one’s of the who had access to Bellamy’s apartment… Bellamy didn’t trust the other boys to not just show up at his apartment randomly to do something stupid like watch cartoons. Once the elevator started moving, it was silent while everyone was getting in the right frame of mind for the tough conversation ahead… That is until Diego, who was standing in the back of the elevator, wadded up the taco wrapper, and launched it right at Jasper, who was standing by the doors, hitting him in the back of the head.

“THAT’S IT!!” Jasper shouted, turning to do what, Miller had no clue, but he stopped short seeing Diego holding up another taco that he’d had previously hidden.

“That’s… what?” Diego asked smirking, knowing he had the younger man by the short hairs.

“Oh gracious one…” Jasper said slowly with awe, watching the taco the whole time. “I know I am unworthy…” He began to slowly move toward Diego and the last taco. “But if I don’t eat that taco in your hands, I. Will. Die!” Jasper finished, desperately grabbing Diego’s T-shirt and clenching his fists.

Everyone watched in amusement as Diego moved the taco upwards slowly watching as Jasper’s eyes followed the movement. Diego quickly threw it in the air, over his head, and caught it in his other hand making Jasper whimper. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, Diego handed over the taco, patting Jasper on the head like a puppy as he gleefully unwrapped it.

Before the elevator doors opened though, Murphy hit the stop button and turned to look at everyone. “Okay people… Be cool, be yourselves.” He said and then zeroed in on Jasper humming quietly, while bouncing in place, picking the cheese off the top of the taco and eating it. He was very focused on his task, not realizing everyone was watching him. “Okay… Scratch that. Don’t be yourself-yourself, be the coolest version of yourself you can possible muster, and someone throw Jasper out of the elevator.” He grumbled the last part to himself while starting the elevator again.

“Heeyyyy…” Jasper said outraged. “Not nice butt-face. I’ll throw YOU outta the elevator.” He huffed.

The doors opened, and everyone got off walking over to the door. Miller knocked and waited… And waited… And waited.

“Did anyone actually call him to let him know we were coming over?” Antonio asked the group.

Everyone paused and turned, looking at Murphy standing at the back of the group. “Yeah, about that…” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I figured we could surprise him… Surprise!” He said doing jazz hands.

Miller face palmed while Lucca spoke up. “How’s that working out for ya, you ding-dong? We surprise him, and he has a stroke, killing him instantly. You know he’s got a bad heart… That’s why he’s dying, duh.”

“No he doesn’t… It’s cancer.” Murphy retorted.

“Guys, guys, guys, it doesn’t matter, we’ve just got to talk to him and let him know we’ll support him through whatever it is…” Monty trailed off.

No one paid any attention to Jasper typing in random codes for the door until he got a green light, and unlocking it with the key he pickpocketed off Antonio, until they all jumped hearing Jasper hollering “Beeeelllllaaammmyyyyyy!!!!!” while barging through the front door, half a taco still in one hand.

“Damn it!! I told someone to toss him off the damn elevator. Now Bellamy’s going to be irritated Jasper woke him up or something!!” Murphy exclaimed following Jasper into the apartment.

After searching the apartment high and low, there was still no sign of Bellamy. Everyone was extremely loud… People calling out his name, boss, or skip in Murphy’s case. Monty and Jasper kept yelling, “Oh captain my captain!!!” repeatedly, before giving up and reconvening in the foray.

“Where could he be?” Diego asked.

“Maybe the club or at BGE?” Antonio questioned.

“No, I checked both of those places before I messaged you all, and he wasn’t there.” Murphy said pacing. “That’s why I figure he had to be here, and told you all to meet me here.”

“What about his dad’s estate, Marcus’ place, or Nonni’s house?” Romeo asked.

Jasper gasped. “He wouldn’t go see Nonni on the weekend without taking us… Hush you.” He said sternly to Romeo.

“Okay, we’ll split up then… Half go to…” Murphy started.

“Why do you always forget to just call him?” Miller said interrupting Murphy, shaking his head.

“Oh… Right. Be my guest and call him then…” Murphy said making a sweeping gesture. “He could just possibly be dead in a ditch somewhere, but it’s no biggie… He’ll pick up, I’m sure.” He said scoffing sarcastically. Murphy’s words had their desired effect as everyone jumped on their phones taking turns calling him and messaging him. Finally, they got a group message from the missing man.

_I am busy… Stop calling and messaging me. I’ll speak to you all tomorrow. I don’t know when I’ll be back home tonight. –B. Blake_

“What the hell does he mean he ‘doesn’t know when he’ll be back’?” Lucca asked confused.

“I don’t know…” Miller muttered… None of this made sense. His strange behavior, and then this disappearing act? Something smelled fishy…

“I know one way to find out.” Murphy murmured lowly, looking at Jasper who was licking his fingers enthusiastically having finished his taco.

“Jazzy…” Murphy said sweetly approaching him. “We need you to track Bellamy’s phone, and get a record of where he’s been all week.”

“Oka…” Jasper started to agree, pulling his phone out.

“No way!” Monty said coming up behind Jasper and jumping in front of him, glaring at Murphy. “Don’t do it Jasper… He’s just doing it to trick us. Remember how we got in trouble last time for tracking Bellamy using his phone when there wasn’t a good life or death reason to?”

Jasper furrowed his eyebrows looking down, remembering, “Yeah, he took the PlayStation away for a whole week because we were being nosy, and that was our punishment!” He looked up glaring at Murphy, “You were tryin’ to get us grounded again, you butthead! I’m not talking to you anymore.” Jasper huffed, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child and turning away.

“I wouldn’t trick you Jasper.” Murphy soothed moving around Monty to clasp Jasper’s shoulder. “You wouldn’t fall for it. I just asked you, because I think you know what you’re doing more than Monty. You’re faster than him.” He said in a fake whisper loud enough for everyone to hear. Miller rolled his eye just like everyone else did, who wasn’t Murphy, Jasper and Monty. Everyone knew what Murphy was doing, but made no move to intercede and stop his careful game of manipulation.

“Hey!!” Monty shouted. “That’s not true. See, watch…” he said, quickly pulling his phone out and typing on it, his fingers moving like lightening. “Ha! Told ya…” He said smugly, turning the phone around to show the screen.

Murphy quickly snatched the phone from Monty’s grasp, “Thanks Monty Cristo. You played your part well, young grasshopper.” Murphy praised.

“Damn it!!! Not again!!” Monty shouted slapping his hand against his forehead “Murphy you cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater… How could you lie like that?” Monty said glowering at the other man.

“I prefer, Master of Deceitfulness, or The Dark Lord of Deviousness… Either will do. I said I wasn’t tricking Jasper… I said nothing about you.” Murphy said distractedly. Monty punched him in the arm once, before walking over to Miller who patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

“This is bad… It can’t be…. I just… I don’t even…” Murphy started to mumble scrolling on the phone.

“Spit it out Murph.” Antonio said anxiously.

“Yeah dude… Seriously what’s the lowdown?” Romeo said taking a step forward as though to take the phone from him.

“Well, if this is right, it’s worse than we thought… He’s been at the hospital every day this week during lunch, and he was there last week too it looks like. Right after we took the Grounders down.” He said not looking up from the device in his hand.

“So… That’s why he left in such a hurry after we got to the club. He was feeling ill, and he had to go to the hospital. Oh God… How didn’t we see he was sick?!” Lucca asked frantically.

“I don’t know, but there are some other places he’s visited that are… Questionable at the very least.” Murphy said. “He visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Saturday, Chinatown on Monday night, and the High Line yesterday evening. Last week, he visited The Met. This makes no sense… Bellamy’s been to all these places before. We all have, living in the city like we do.” Murphy said looking up confused.

“Unless…” Diego spoke, with one arm across his chest and the other rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Unless what bro?” Romeo asked.

“Unless… He’s re-visiting places on a bucket list of sorts, before he dies.” The big man rumbled sadly with his head down.

“It could be… He went to church this past Sunday, and you know he doesn’t break the church once a month rule, unless there are dire circumstances… Like he screws something up with Nonni, and she makes him go as penance.” Murphy added.

“He’s obviously coming clean with God before he goes.” Monty piped up quietly.

“Anything else?” Miller asked lowly as silence descended upon the group.

“Yeah… There is this one address over on the Upper West Side that he’s been to numerous time over the last two weeks…” Murphy said trailing off.

“It could be a therapist… Dying ain’t easy ya know.” Antonio said rubbing his face wearily.

“So just a recap…” Jasper said speaking up for the first time since the whole conversation began. “He’s visited the hospital practically every day this week because he’s so sick, he needs treatment every day. He’s gone to various attractions all over the city because he wants to see them one last time before he… he… he…” Jasper got choked up a bit, not being able to bring himself to say the word ‘dies’. Lucca came over and grabbed his shoulder squeezing gently. Jasper continued with the silent support, “He’s gone to church twice in two weeks’ time, something he hasn’t done in years, and he’s been going to therapy, all to get right and be prepared for when he…” Jasper just looked away, not bothering to try and finish his sentence.

“Looks like it…” Murphy muttered grimly.

“Where is he now?” Miller asked gravely.

“Uh…” Murphy looked down and scrolled some more before hitting a button or two. “He’s at the Bronx zoo.”

“Come on boys. Let’s go let him know we’ve got his back now more than ever, and we’re not going to abandon him and let him suffer through this alone.” Miller said, rallying the troops. He could see the despaired faces falling away to be replaced with masks of steely determination all around him, as they nodded.

**_XxxX_ **

As Bellamy leaned against the wooden log railing a couple yards from the bathrooms, he couldn’t keep the silly grin from his face. Clarke had dragged him from one exhibit to the next, spouting facts about the animals and their habitats. She had explained to him in the car how she had downloaded an interactive map app on her phone that gave information about whatever animal they were looking at, and had made use of it in the park. They had stopped to let her take a bathroom break, while Bellamy waited for her in the shade of the miniature forest behind him. He had a perfect view of the restrooms, and very few people milling around… Not that any of them would recognize who he was with his casual clothes, ball cap and sunglasses on.

Bellamy was contemplating whether to wait to eat ‘til they had explored a bit more, or taking her to get lunch once she got back from the bathroom. He hadn’t eaten that morning because he had been too excited about seeing Clarke, and his stomach wouldn’t let him. It kept doing this weird jumping thing when he would think about her, which was just about every moment naturally, so he had skipped breakfast. He briefly wondered if she had eaten that morning before he showed up… He already worried she didn’t eat enough while she was at work to keep her energy levels up.

He was snapped out of his musings by a body tackling him, hard. Somehow he managed not to topple over sideways thanks to the railing, and seconds later, he had another one on him… Then a third… Fourth… and lastly a fifth. Before he could start flinging bodies on the ground, he looked up to see Miller, Diego, and Antonio running up, completely out of breath like they had just run a marathon. They tried to talk but were to out of breath, and all three hunched over wheezing.

Looking down he saw all five of his other guys hugging him tightly. Monty was first followed by Jasper, Murphy, Lucca and lastly Romeo.

“Well hello to you guys too.” Bellamy said trying to sound annoyed, but it came out sounding mostly bemused. “What’s going on? Why are you all here?” He asked confused. “I told you guys I would talk to you tomorrow.” Bellamy said turning to see if Clarke had come back from the restroom yet, praying he could get rid of his guys before she came back, and they saw her.

They would start asking her questions and then they would get to know her, and like her because it’s practically impossible not to like her, and then they would steal her attention away from him, and then monopolize it, and then she would forget all about him… Or worst, she wouldn’t understand the guys crazy, bizarre sense of humor, and wouldn’t want to be around him anymore. Both situations were equally bad… Very bad. Bellamy could feel the panic welling in his body, making him want to go find her and run. His two worlds were on a collision course with each other, and he didn’t know the outcome or how to stop it. They would steal her, his angel, away from him, and she would no longer be his. He would no longer have her, and that scared the shit out of him.

“You… You have to go. Now.” Bellamy said harshly, stuttering a bit, trying to push them away and get them to leave. He succeeded in pushing them all of except for Jasper and Murphy, who stubbornly clung to him.

“No way Skip… We’ll be here ‘til the very end. We won’t let you go through this alone.” Murphy vowed.

“What are you talking about?!” Bellamy asked anxiously still trying to get them off him and watching the bathrooms… She would be back any moment…

“The cancer…” Murphy said in a duh voice.

“Or the heart problems…” Lucca joined in.

“Wait, wait, wait… What the hell is going on around here?” Bellamy asked, completely outraged, confused and irritated.

“You’re dying boss…” Diego stated bluntly, shocking the hell out of Bellamy. He stopped struggling and turned his attention from the bathroom to look at his guys.

“It’s okay boss… We know just about everything that has been happening. Everything is okay… We’re here now. We’ll get you through this. You’ll die peacefully I promise.” Romeo said, soothingly.

Suddenly there was a small gasp from behind all the guys that had them all turning around to look at the source, giving a Bellamy a perfect view of his very pale and stunned looking princess. Jasper and Murphy let him go, and turned like all the others to look at her. He quickly took his hat and sunglasses off, holding them both in one hand.

“Princess…” Bellamy whispered, taking a step forward. Then Clarke did something she’d never done before… She took a step back, more like stumbled really, away from him like he’d hit her. He didn’t think it was possible, but such a small action sent waves of agony through him. She had never moved away from him like that… She always felt comfortable and safe around him, always, even from the very beginning.

Jasper was the first to move or say anything. “Doctor Clarke? What are you doing here?” He asked confused, before he seemed to come up with an explanation to fit the circumstances, and slapped his forehead with an “Oh…” He quickly walked up to Clarke and hugged her, sniffling, before pulling back to look at her. “You’re here to make sure he doesn’t collapse or overdo it aren’t you? Oh you delightful gumdrop, you.” He said to her before hugging her again. She didn’t return either of the hugs or even look at him while he was talking, her watery blue gaze was fixed on Bellamy the whole time.

Jasper moved back, noticed something was making her cry, and panicked. “Oh God… She’s crying. What did I do? What do we do? Someone get her some Tylenol or something! Just make it stop, I can’t handle a woman crying!” Miller reached over and smacked him on the back of the head, holding a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion.

“Is it true Bell?” Clarke asked him brokenly, the tears that had been steadily gathering in her blue eyes finally spilling over and coursing down her pale cheeks. Looking at her standing there, so distressed and saddened at the thought of his demise, both gutted him and made his cold dead heart, begin to beat with the fervor of some unknown emotion he had welling up inside his chest… For the life of him, he couldn’t place the emotion, but in that one fleeting moment it had the capacity to change his whole world.

Her once bright baby blue eyes, that had had him so utterly bewitched from the moment he’d seen them, were now a frightening translucent, glossy, light blue-greyish color. She had her shaking hands wrapped around her waist as if holding her sadness in, refusing to let it come out. Her full lips no longer held that beautiful smile she always seemed to have just for him, instead, she was biting her trembling bottom lip as though to hold her sobs back. She looked so small, like even the slightest wind would knock her over. Bellamy could see she was having trouble taking a breath.

Before she could blink or move away from him again, he was crossing the space separating them, swooping her up into his arms, and holding her securely against him seeing as how her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. He tossed his sunglasses and hat to a stunned Murphy when he passed, knowing he needed his hands free to comfort his angel. He held her tightly to his chest as she relaxed into him immediately and began shaking with silent sobs that broke the heart he was just then coming to realize he had. He ignored everyone around him, except for the girl in his arms… They were in their own little bubble.

“ _Shh Shh la mia bella ragazza dolce (my sweet, beautiful girl)._ ” Bellamy murmured in her ear, trying to calm her, as she brought her small soft hands up to wrap around his neck, calming a bit hearing his voice. He said it purposefully in Italian believing she couldn’t understand the language. “I’m fine, I promise, Princess. _I’m staying right here with you, and I’m not leaving… I can’t.”_ He whispered in a soothing voice for her and her alone to hear, switching between languages.

He felt her take a deep breath, and then another one… He took two quick steps to a bench that was conveniently close by and set her down while he knelt down in front of her on his knees. He cupped her face gently wiping her tears with his thumbs while whispering comforting reassurances to her in hushed tones. Even while crying, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“You… You’re okay right? You’re n-n-not dying?” She stuttered out, clutching at his forearms arms while his hands fell to hold her neck.

“I’m fine Princess… I’m not sick, and I’m certainly not dying. The guys are just a little on the insane side… Completely mad actually, all of ‘em. I should have warned you, huh, you were bound to meet them sooner or later.” He said with a playful little smile hoping to draw one out of her, or one of her endearing giggles, that he swore could put a spell on any man… It certainly had him.

While he didn’t get a giggle, he did get a sweet little smile that had him relaxing his tense shoulders, even if it was still a little bit wobbly.

“Why don’t you go splash some cool water on your face huh? It’ll make you feel better. I promise.” Bellamy said lowly, standing and lowering his hands to grasp hers, before pulling her to her feet. She nodded uncertainly, as though reluctant to leave him. “You have absolutely no need to worry, I’ll be right here when you get back, I promise. I haven’t broken any of my promises yet have I?” He asked, knowing he hadn’t… He couldn’t. Not with her anyway. She shook her head no. “Okay then, go on.” He said kissing her forehead, giving her his best genuine smile. She nodded once before turning and walking back the way she came, to the bathroom. He waited ‘til she was out of sight and hearing range before rounding on his guys.

The looks on their faces were priceless… astonishment, stupefaction, incredulity, and disbelief, were all present, and in any other situation, Bellamy might have laughed, but at that moment, Clarke’s tortured face was still fresh in his mind as was the feel of her shaking with silent tears in his arms. He approached silently and gracefully. They knew they were in trouble and assumed the position, standing with their heads down and hands crossed behind their backs, to take the reaming out they were sure to get from their extremely pissed boss. Bellamy didn’t disappoint.

“ _What in God’s name were you thinking?!”_ He hissed lowly in Italian, not realizing he had slipped into another language, but that’s what happened when he was truly enraged. They all had learned the language for communication purposes in the field, and knew what he was saying. “ _What in the world possessed you to think I was dying?!_ I told you I would see you tomorrow, but no… You had to track me, like you knew you weren’t supposed to Monty and Jasper.” Bellamy said pointedly at the two boys. He stood straighter, and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you have to say for yourselves?” Bellamy asked calmly, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You were acting funny…” Romeo muttered petulantly.

“Yeah, and you were smiling when we hadn’t done anything funny.” Monty said a little hurt.

“I didn’t track you… That was Monty.” Jasper snitched, pointing at Monty.

“Murphy tricked me!” Monty said outraged, pointing at Murphy.

“Well, Jasper thought you were the one dying, and convinced all of us…” Lucca said coming to Murphy’s defense, while Murphy was nodding along glaring at Monty for ratting him out.

Bellamy sighed heavily as the five of them started arguing with each other loudly. “Shut up, all of you!” Bellamy barked, silencing them all immediately. He turned and looked at Miller, Antonio, and Diego. “What do the three of you have to say for yourselves that explains why you went along with all this ridiculousness? I rely on you three to keep the other five in line when I’m not there, and not go along with their tomfoolery.” Bellamy said disappointedly, making the three men flinch… Bellamy being disappointed was the absolute worst. It was worse than him being angry and yelling, but at least he wasn’t silent. When Bellamy was silent and mad, people knew to run, because there was almost a 100% guarantee of being shot. The guys had only seen Bellamy like that a handful of time since they had known him, and thankfully, it had never been directed at one of them.

“We just kind of assumed…” Miller started off but stopped seeing Bellamy’s face.

“Assumed? You assumed… What have I told all of you about assuming?” Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows, turning to look at the other five guys. They knew the answer because he’d had to go through the same speech every time they came to some crazy ass conclusion, and acted on it. He didn’t think he’d ever have to go through it with his other three guys, but there was a first time for everything.

“To not do it. Ask the person directly.” Monty said lowly.

“Uh… It’s the mother of all fuckers.” Murphy said rubbing the back of his neck.

“It makes and ass out of you and me,” Jasper said scuffling his foot on the ground.

“You hate assumptions.” Lucca said.

“Don’t make ‘em unless you know the whole story.” Romeo said reluctantly.

“Exactly.” Bellamy said. “Now, because of your actions, you’ve upset Clarke, unnecessarily mind you, and worked yourselves into a tizzy I’m sure. Go home, all of you and think about what you’ve done. I need time to think about your punishments.” Bellamy said, sounding very much like a parent scolding his children.

“Bellamy Blake…” Came a stern voice behind him, causing him to whip around quickly. “Don’t you dare punish them for my overreaction.” Clarke said, walking right past him, to Monty, who was sniffling pitifully like the kid in the store last Sunday, and immediately started to hug him and comfort him. All the guys stared at her like she was some sort of alien, then Jasper, never one to miss out on a hug started sniffling too. Murphy decided he didn’t like not being the center of attention, and started wiping away fake tears. Somehow she ended up comforting all five guys, giving them hugs and smiles while cooing over them. Meanwhile Miller was tossing him knowing looks, while Antonio and Diego looked on at the scene longingly wanting to join in too. Clarke turned and saw them, beckoning them both forward until they were in some sort of giant group hug. All of the guys were fawning over Clarke, who was in the center, about how cute and short she was.

The group hug started to separate until they were in a loose circle standing around her. Bellamy heard Clarke’s stomach growl, as they all chuckled a bit at the noise. Clarke, much to Bellamy’s great relief, walked over to him and asked sweetly, “Hey Bell, can we go get something to eat now?” Whether she was talking about just her and him, or her, him, and all the guys, he knew not. All he cared about was feeding her.

“Yeah, come on Princess…” He said leading her away from his guys, with his hand on the small of her back. He took one look over his shoulder, and saw his guys all gaping at him, uncertain what to do… Bellamy resigned himself to the fact that they would get to know her one way or another. He gave them one single jerk of the head, and they came running to follow.

They were seated in a secluded spot in the restaurant around a large round table. Bellamy and Clarke sat together of course, with Monty sitting next to Clarke and everyone else filling the other seats until Jasper sat down on the open seat next to Bellamy. The guys were all mostly quiet, watching Clarke with rapt attention, like she would break out into song and dance at any moment, while the waitress gave them their menus and took their drink orders… Romeo didn’t even flirt with her.

“Do you know who everyone is, Princess?” Bellamy asked breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the table.

“Umm… I think so.” She said looking around the table.

“Prove it…” Miller said suspiciously.

“Okay… Well, Jasper is beside Bellamy,” She said leaning around Bellamy to wave at Jasper. “And then there’s Lucca, the energy guy, and beside him is Romeo, the lover boy mechanic. My best friend Raven and her husband Wick, are mechanics… I bet the three of you would get along well.” Clarke said thoughtfully to a surprised Romeo. She kept going though. “Umm… You’re Antonio right?” She said a bit hesitantly to Antonio. He nodded, confirming her words. “Right, so you’re a security manager guy at the place where Bellamy works.” Antonio sent a questioning look at Bellamy, who just shook his head, telling the other man not to ask or say a word. “And if he’s Antonio, you must be Diego, the gentle giant…” She said gazing at Diego with a bashful little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “I have a brother about your size, and he gives me the best bear hugs. My nickname for him is Bear actually. He’s a tough guy on the outside and can be downright vicious when he wants to be, but he’s a real teddy bear on the inside. I bet you’re the same right?” She said smiling warmly at the bigger man, who blushed, but nodded smiling back just as warmly. She moved on and pointed at Murphy. “Then John, the architect… I know your sister Katie. She is so marvelous. I love working with her at the hospital when we’re on shift together. She talks to me all the time about you and M…” She stopped abruptly, when her eyes landed on Miller who was discreetly making panicked throat slashing motions. “I mean you and you’re _many_ hair-brained pranks. She loves you to death.” Clarke said quickly covering from her almost slip up. Murphy didn’t seem to notice thankfully. “Anyway, you’re Nathan… I’ve uh…” She paused clearing her throat. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” And that’s all she said about him.

“You forgot me.” Monty said pouting a bit from beside her.

“No I didn’t… You’re Monty, the master puppeteer. From what I’ve heard, you’re the brains of this whole outfit, am I right? You’re the one that works behind the scenes.” She said grinning, making Monty beam at having such a reputation.

“Once again, the legend of our awesomeness proceeds us boys.” Murphy said with a cocky grin. “It’s so sweet that you talk about us all the time Bellamy.” He continued, teasingly.

“Oh no, Bellamy hasn’t told me anything about any of you.” Clarke corrected, before taking a sip of her drink that had just been set in front of her.

“What… How do you know about us then?” Lucca asked confused.

“Umm… Well I met you all before even if I didn’t get all of your names, but it was Amelia, actually. She thinks you all are… What was the words she used…” Clarke mused to herself. “Oh yeah! She called you all, and I quote, ‘Cute little flappy eared puppies with no sense of up or down.’”

The whole table was silent, and Bellamy could see Clarke start to fidget worriedly. She relaxed though when Romeo nodded thoughtfully and said. “Yep… Sounds like us.”

There were various nods and agreements all around. The waitress came back and took their orders before leaving once again. It didn’t escape Bellamy’s notice that not one of his guys tried to hit on her or even flirt with her, which was practically unheard of.

“So, Doctor Griffin…” Antonio said leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table.

“Oh, please call me Clarke… All of you.” She said with a smile that had more than one of his guys sighing dreamily.

“Right, Clarke… Most important question I’ll ever ask you.” He said seriously.

Bellamy watched Clarke straighten up, and make a show of being just as serious as he was being. “Okay… I’m ready. Most important question you’ll ever ask me… Go.”

“How tall are you?” Antonio asked, trying to hide his smile. He finally gave up all pretenses, and grinned.

 “Would anyone believe me if I said 5’6?” She asked with playful smile, looking around the table.

“Not a chance…” Murphy said with a shake of the head. “You’re so tiny… Like 5’2 maybe.”

“Ouch…” She said with mock hurt. “My driver’s license says 5’6.” She said shrugging.

“That doesn’t tell us anything…” Monty said with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, that just says you lied about your height at the DMV.” Jasper said with a shake of his head.

“Hey… I didn’t lie. I was 5’6 _that_ day…” She fake coughed into her fist. “I may have been wearing very tall high heels, but…”

“I knew it…” Romeo grinned. “So really, how tall are you? You’re like a midget.”

“Okay first off, I’m not telling. My driver’s license AND my passport say I’m 5’6… Second, I’m not short or a midget, you trees are all just ridiculously tall. What do they feed you all over here? Or is it just something in the water?” She asked jokingly.

“Nope, nothing wrong with the food or water… You’re just short.” Diego said. “Romeo and I were born and raised on the west coast. We moved here some years ago, so you little lady, are just simply of short stature.”

“Sorry Shorty, but it’s true.” Romeo said shrugging.

Clarke gasped in mock outrage and turned to Bellamy. “Bellamy, tell them I am not short… I’m of average height.”

Bellamy chuckled and shook his head, “Sorry. No can do Princess. You really are short… Like pocket-sized.”

“Traitor.” She said sticking her tongue out at him, before winking, letting him know she was just playing, and turned back to the guys to continue answering their questions and asking questions of her own.

That’s how lunch proceeded. They talked and talked, and talked some more. To Bellamy’s immense relief, his fears of the guys taking Clarke and her attention away from him seemed unfounded. She sought ways to include him in just about every conversation. When their salads came, without thinking, Clarke put the onions that she didn’t like, but knew he did, onto his plate, while he slipped her the cucumbers on his plate he didn’t like, but knew she loved. It was like they had been doing it for years. It was something they had learned about each other when learning each other’s eating habits, and Bellamy couldn’t help the feeling that started to unfurl in his chest once again at the small insignificant little actions. While Bellamy didn’t miss the dumbfounded looks on his guy’s faces, he chose to ignore them, instead focusing on Clarke.

All the guys started calling her Shorty, Tiny, Short Stuff, or in Jasper’s case, Short Stack, because she was ‘sweet and fluffy like a stack of pancakes, and who doesn’t love pancakes?’. She accepted the nicknames, and proceeded to make up her own. Instead of calling Miller and Murphy by their last names, she called them by their first names. They were both okay with it, and Miller even told her she could further shorten his name to Nate if she wanted to, making her grin at him brightly. Bellamy was happy his friend no longer seemed suspicious of her, and made an attempt to get along with her. She shortened Lucca’s name to just Luc, Romeo’s to just Rome, and she called Antonio, Tony. She called Jasper by his initials, JJ, and Monty, Ty, like the beanie babies, claiming she couldn’t look at him, and not want to squeeze him just like the miniature stuffed animals. Lastly for Diego, she said he had a choice… Dieglet, Digby, or Digs. Diego accepted Digs, happy to not have been left out.

After lunch, Clarke invited all the guys to come with them while they explored the rest of the zoo, and everyone jumped at the opportunity, not wanting to leave. It was amusing to Bellamy how all the guys seemed to hover around her. She didn’t seem to notice, and if she did, she didn’t mind. She walked right next to Bellamy with her arm looped through his like they had every other time they were together, further settling Bellamy’s insecurities. In fact, as the day progressed and nothing really changed in regards to the way he and Clarke interacted, Bellamy started to feel guilty and more than a little ridiculous for his childish thoughts, thinking she would drop him if she met his friends or that she might not want to be around him when she found out how crazy they were.

Bellamy actually found it easier to deal with the guys when Clarke was there to help him manage them all. When Jasper wanted to ride a giraffe, and Clarke said no, Jasper didn’t throw a tantrum. Instead he accepted her offer to buy him a balloon, and he was happy. Of course Murphy wasn’t so easily mollified when Clarke wouldn’t let him feed or pet the lions… He made a very good case arguing how Daniel in the Bible was in a den of lions, and didn’t get eaten, so Murphy could feed one and pet it, and be fine. She distracted him by showing him a shiny key chain stand, and buying him the one he wanted, and that was that. He didn’t bring it up again. When Lucca and Romeo tried to sneak off to play in the Gorilla Forest, Clarke caught them and gave them a stern lecture on how playing with the gorillas was wrong because they would both be disrupting the mammal’s habitat. “How would you feel if I came in and interrupted you both playing video games huh?” It was a good ten-minute lecture that really had them seeing the light of the whole situation.

Bellamy made sure Clarke had a walk-through of the butterfly garden, knowing she’d love it and probably would want to draw it. He was spot on about her loving it, if the smile on her face was any indication. Overall, it was a very interesting, successful, enlightening day. Clarke handled the boys like a pro, and Bellamy was in absolute awe of her. As the day came to a close, and they started heading back to the parking lot, the guys began asking her where she had been so far in the city, and where she still wanted to go.

Clarke explained where they’d been so far, and began listing places not marked off on her list.

“Hey… You guys should come with us for some of these!” She said excitedly.

“Would if we could… Like 90% of the places you said, we can’t go. Not all of us anyway.” Jasper pouted.

“Yeah…” Monty said sadly.

“Why can’t you come?” Clarke asked confused.

“To which place?” Murphy scoffed.

“Okay… Empire State Building.” Clarke said watching everyone suspiciously. Bellamy grinned remembering this story.

“Funny story…” Antonio said grinning at Clarke.

“No…” Lucca said. “Very serious, logical story.”

“Well, what had happened was…” Jasper started off seriously and paused. “There is no serious, logical way to explain this in such a way that makes any sort of sense. Murphy… Help.” He said with a slump of his shoulders.

“We watched King Kong.” Murphy said simply, with a shrug of his shoulders, like that was the obvious answer. “And we, being the incredibly awesome, creative thinkers that we are, decided the girl in the movie was exaggerating how difficult it was climbing up the building. The goal for the rest of us was to reach the top of the building where the giant gorilla, AKA Jasper and Monty, would be before they fell off the building, shot down by the planes, dead… There was a time limit to the climb you see. We couldn’t just take all freaking day. Anyway, everything was fine, and we were about to successfully reach the top, but Jasper had to pee, not listening to Lucca when he said to take a bathroom break, and well, suffice to say, Jasper’s lucky to be alive, we were grounded for two whole months for that stunt, and banned from the Empire State building.”

“Oh jeez…” Clarke said.

“Yeah… I got a lollipop in the hospital though. Bright-side…” Jasper said smiling doing jazz hands.

“Okay, what’s some other crazy stuff you’ve done?” Clarke asked.

“Jasper and I hacked all the screens in Time Square and put up the Nyan cat video… Never got caught.” Monty said, shrugging. “You know, the pop tart cat?” Monty asked seeing Clarke’s confused face.

“No, not really.” She said shaking her head in amusement.

“Uh, Romeo and I got kicked out and banned from the Met… Who knew you couldn’t play with the pieces?” Lucca asked like the idea was completely insane.

“Yeah… It was just an innocent sword fight.” Romeo said nodding. “Until we accidentally sliced Miller up a bit when he jumped in the middle of the fight, trying to take away the cool swords.” Romeo said innocently, like Miller didn’t have to get 33 stitches on his side for the laceration, and still have the scar.

“I broke the clock in Grand Central Station…” Murphy said. “Allegedly that is.”

“We all climbed to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge without Bellamy knowing, and well, again, Jasper’s lucky to be alive…” Diego admitted.

“Yeah…” Jasper said sheepishly. “Who knew I was afraid of heights? Not me. It only took almost dying twice to figure it out.” He mumbled a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, and we don’t go to Central Park anymore, because of the great geese fiasco of ’09.” Miller said with a fearful expression.

“I still have nightmares…” Jasper whispered with a pain stricken expression. “So many feathers and blood.”

“Oh my God! Did you kill them!?” Clarke asked horrified, even though Bellamy was shaking his head at her violently, trying to convey she shouldn’t ask.

“No…” Monty said mournfully. “The blood wasn’t from the birds, it was ours. Damn devil birds attacked us for the bread on our sandwiches!” He said outraged, while all the guys nodded solemnly backing him up.

“How are any of you still alive?” Clarke asked in wonderment. “Is there any place you haven’t been banned, committed a crime at, or almost died?”

“Yeah… Here.” Antonio admitted. “And I’m pretty sure it’s because you were here with us.”

“Oh Lord.” She whispered looking around at everyone.

“Wait! Coney Island… We haven’t had a chance to go there and climb the Ferris wheel, like Mighty Joe Young did on that one movie.” Murphy said, in an ‘ah!’ kind of moment. They loved large monkey movies…

“Yeah, I really wanted to go parkouring there… I feel like it would be a ton of fun.” Romeo said excitedly.

Bellamy sighed… While this was probably like the Twilight Zone for Clarke, this was his life. Bailing hooligans out of jail and the ER…

The continued talking until they reached the parking lot, and then they had to separate and go in different directions to their cars. Clarke hugged each of the guys and said her goodbyes, while Bellamy sent them off with a stern look and told them to be at the club tomorrow morning. He still wasn’t quite happy with them.

They all left, and Bellamy and Clarke were back to being on their own. She suggested they head back to her apartment, so she could make them dinner, to which Bellamy readily agreed to.

That night, they both made baked spaghetti, well really more her than him, but he helped, while dancing around in her kitchen to some of the different songs on her various playlists. Bellamy couldn’t stop smiling. She made him so happy. He laughed and smiled and joked when he was with her. He teased her, loving the dusty pink blush that covered her cheeks, and how her eyes would sparkle mischievously when she had a good comeback lined up. She was quirky in an endearing sort of way, and Bellamy found himself completely bewitched by her. She didn’t know it, and he could hardly bring himself to admit it, but he knew she could literally ask him for anything, anything at all, and he would move heaven and earth to give it to her.

His business and money? Done…

Van Gogh’s The Starry Night painting? Hers in a heartbeat…

The Hope Diamond? No problem…

The Lincoln Memorial? He wouldn’t even blink…

The thing that made Bellamy smile though, and not freak the hell out that she had this kind of power over him, was the fact that he knew she wouldn’t want any of it and she wouldn’t use him like that. There had been wars fought over women like her… Bellamy certainly knew he’d fight for her.

While it seemed like a stupid thing to be gleeful about, Bellamy found himself relishing in the fact that they had a routine. After dinner they watched TV ‘til she fell asleep on him, and then he slipped her into bed, with a kiss on the temple, cleaned any mess up and left, making sure to lock the door behind him.

Most nights he went home and worked ‘til he could hardly keep his eyes open, before proceeding to bed… Not everything had changed. What had changed in regards to his time away from Clarke, was how long he slept. He was often woken in the middle of his nightmare by the sound of his alarm clock in the mornings. Now, he could sleep a couple hours longer than the normal five hours he was used to, before a nightmare woke him up.

He had a sneaking suspicion that his new sleeping habits were due to his beautiful blonde princess having captured not only his conscious mind, but his unconscious one as well. He couldn’t bring himself to panic or worry, not when he was getting almost a full night’s sleep.

Before heading to bed though, he got an email from Katie with Clarke’s schedule for the next week. The message attached read, _Thought I’d go ahead and send this to you before you asked for it tomorrow. Call off Miller for me will ya? I don’t need him picking me up anymore, or you sending him over. Miller refused to say we were anything more than acquaintances to my brother, so I didn’t tell Murphy anything. I’m just so done with all the hurt and drama… Hopefully I’ll get over him and move on to someone who will stand up for me. Eventually. Thank you though, for trying to help me, the advice, and looking out for me throughout the whole ordeal. Clarke promised to help me in any way she can, and I’ve accepted her help. I’m going to get in a good place, and get back out there in the dating game. Please don’t hurt her, she is the best friend I could ever ask for. I can see, plain as day, how much you both care for one another, so just… Don’t screw around and fuck up the best thing that’ll probably ever happen to you. Okay?_

Bellamy swallowed hard re-reading the message twice. While he hated how down she seemed and how heartbreaking the whole thing must be for her, he knew he couldn’t change her mind or Miller’s or the situation. So he simply responded with, _Thank you. I won’t. Things will get better, I promise._ Before heading to bed.

 

**_XxxX_ **

Sunday morning, Bellamy opted out of going to church. His father and everyone else would be there, and Bellamy wasn’t too keen on a run in with them. Perhaps the most important factor in his absence was the fact that Clarke was working that day, and wouldn’t be there. He told her he would bring dinner to her when she got home that night so she didn’t have to cook. She was very grateful, and said that she thought that it would be a great idea.

He knew he had to go deal with his guys. As soon as he walked into the House, he was bombarded with questions. How long had he been seeing her? Why had he been hiding her? Did he like her? When could they see her again?

“Calm down all of you!” Bellamy said loudly over the chatter and incessant questions that just wouldn’t seem to stop. “You will all sit, and I’ll try to answer your questions.” Bellamy said firmly.

They did as he asked, and sat down, crowding in around him like it was story time. Bellamy told them the Spark notes version of meeting her at church, agreeing to be her tour guide, where they’ve been, and having dinner with her a couple times a week. He gave them the very bare minimum.

“Boss? Doesn’t it seem suspicious?” Miller asked. “I mean, what if she’s a plant?”

“Hey dummy! Shut your mouth!” Jasper said outraged. “Clarke is a sweetheart.”

“Besides, who would she work for?” Murphy asked like the idea was absurd. Bellamy’s relief at Miller having dropped his suspicions was gone. His friend obviously did not trust that she was who she said she was.

“Literally anyone…” Miller said throwing his hands in the air. “Any government agency, including but not limited to FBI, ATF, ICE, TSA… And that’s only in the US. You know we’ve always got Interpol on our asses.” Miller listed off.

“God, I hate those slimy, slick, dirty bastards.” Lucca said, grimacing, with utter disdain dripping from his words.

“Yeah, well that’s just feds. What about rival families? Thought of those? Or even other criminal organizations? Russia’s pretty pissed with us at the moment if you haven’t forgotten… Same with the damn Liberians.” Miller said. He turned to Bellamy who had been quite, and continued, “Look, I’m not doubting that she’s a nice person… Really, I’m not. All I’m saying is let me and Antonio check her out a bit, Boss… Background check and stuff. It’s routine to check people who come in contact with you anyway.”

“No.” Bellamy said firmly.

“Bellamy, please.” Miller pleaded. “Her last name is Griffin… Isn’t that a little suspicious? Griffin, as in Jake Griffin. Griffin, as in Griffin Crime Family. What if she knows Jake, huh? What if she’s his daughter? No one’s ever met her, or seen her for that matter, including you. It could be her!”

“Damn…” Antonio whispered, looking down. “He’s got a point Boss.” He said apologetically.

“No, she’s not Jake’s daughter…” Bellamy denied vehemently. “There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have the last name Griffin. What is the likelihood of running across Jake Griffin’s only daughter, especially here on the east coast, when her family is rooted to the west coast? Practically zero, and you know I think big coincidences like that are bullshit. This isn’t some movie! Besides her name is Clarke, not Charlotte. She has no idea who I am… Mob-wise, or business-wise. She has no idea I’m rich, or that I’ve got that bullshit false reputation for sleeping around.”

“Bellamy she could be playing you…” Diego said, like the words literally pained him to be said. “She isn’t the first person who knows how to lie, act, and play a part.”

“Listen to me…” Bellamy said sternly. “All of you listen and listen well. She doesn’t know who I am… I know she doesn’t. I have thrown so many hints and curve balls at her, and she hasn’t reacted suspiciously even once. Okay? No one is looking into her because I said so. That is an order.” Bellamy said with authority. “You want proof?” Bellamy pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to her.

_Have you looked me up yet? -Bellamy_

He didn’t have to wait but five minutes before he got a reply.

_Ugh… This again? No, I have not looked you up yet, and I have no plans to. I wanted to get to know you-you, not paper-you, and I succeeded… I know who you are, and I don’t need a website or anyone else telling me lies. The you other people see doesn’t matter to me. –Clarke_

Bellamy tossed his phone to Miller who read it and passed the phone to the other guys so they could look too.

“I know what I’m talking about,” Bellamy said smugly, promptly turning serious while giving his reasoning as to why things were the way they were. “I’m not going to go looking into her and her past when she’s not going to go digging into mine. I’m talking about the girl who has literally asked me for nothing but a little bit of my time, something I am all too willing to give her. I had to threaten to sic my grandmother on her case just to pay the bill when we went out to eat the first time, and then she turned around and sneaks back into the restaurant to tip the waitress who was rude to her, a ten.”

“Did anyone see her reaction yesterday?” Murphy prompted, still firmly on Bellamy’s side in regards to Clarke. “Those weren’t fake tears. Those were real. That whole reaction was real. She isn’t acting, or lying, or playing some part.”

“Yeah…” Jasper said joining in. “Shame on you!” He said crossly making everyone but Miller hang their heads in shame for doubting her.

“Miller, let’s go for a walk.” Bellamy said coldly, standing and making his way to the door, knowing the man in question was following him. The other man’s behavior was pissing Bellamy off to no end, especially when Clarke was the one consoling Katie every time Miller dropped the ball with her. He did not like being questioned like he was… Like he was bringing their worst enemy into their house, and saying ‘Hey look, we’ve got a new member!’. If it had been up to him, the guys would have never met Clarke, for the sheer fact that they would ask him questions he didn’t want to answer. He was the boss, and if he said don’t do something, then he expected that to be the end of it.

Once they were out in the hallway, Bellamy rounded on him. “Do not question me on this matter again Miller. She knows about you and Katie, and she’s kept quiet. Clarke is there for your girl every time you fuck up which seems to be all the time, so show a little respect and appreciation. By the way, you’re an absolute idiot for losing Katie. She’s done with your ass. Back to the point, I know a snake or a rat when I see one, and Clarke’s neither. She’s an angel, so back off… Don’t look into her, or their will be consequences. You got me? I know your just lookin’ out for everyone, especially me, and I got mad respect for that, but you need to trust me. She has never asked about any of you, or even what I do for that matter… If she _is_ a spy, she’s the worst damn spy in the word. She is in the dark for the most part about my life outside of her, so leave her be. Understand?” Bellamy asked gravely.

Miller nodded watching Bellamy intently. “You love her don’t you?” He asked quietly after a moment.

Bellamy just shook his head, like the other man was wrong. He didn’t know what he felt. For the life of him, he couldn’t identify the emotions and feeling swirling around in his head and heart in regards to her, no matter how hard he tried… He had his suspicions of course, but those freaked him out, so he didn’t focus on those too much. It was frustrating to say the least, but at the same time, he didn’t really want to label them, because when he did, he knew his whole world would flip on its axis, and he’d be tossed into the great big ocean of the unknown. He had no idea if he’d sink or swim, so for the time being, just enjoying her and the reactions she pulled from him is what he was going to do.

“Come on…” Bellamy said turning to go back inside to the other guys.

“Wait!” Miller called, prompting Bellamy to turn and look at the other man with a raised eyebrow. “I know we had a fight the other night, but… She said she’s done with me?” He asked downtrodden. Bellamy knew his friend was talking about Katie.

“Yeah man. You can only play a game for so long before the other person quits.” Bellamy said.

“What? I’m not playing any game with her.” Miller said confused.

Bellamy sighed heavily. “Look… I don’t claim to know a single thing about relationships okay, but you’ve been playing tug-a-war with her for a while. You want to be with her, but you refuse to tell Murphy about the relationship, and so you wind up keeping her hidden like some dirty secret. She’s done with it bro. I made her understand you needed time to get up the nerve to tell him, because you’ve been friends for so long, and she accepted it… Hell, she was even ready to tell Murphy on her own without you there, but according to her, you refused, saying you’d tell him that you’re nothing but acquaintances. That probably hurt like a bitch, and it was the last straw. Your one chance with her is gone. Out the window, in the breeze. You know I don’t give my opinion or input on stuff like this unless it’s asked for, but I’m going to give it now because you need to hear it… She deserves someone who will fight the world and all its cruelties for her. She deserves to have someone that will face Murphy, and the huge possibility of getting the shit beat out of them by him, for her. You obviously can’t be that person for her, so let her go. You are one of the bravest men I have ever known, but you’re being a coward. You’ve got no problem jumping in front of a gun for someone, but you won’t face the wrath of her brother for her? When she clearly wants you? That’s so unbelievably stupid!” Bellamy finished having gotten himself worked up over the subject.

Bellamy watched as every single word hit home with his friend. “Let her go.” Bellamy said calmly. “Just let her go so she can move on and find someone who is even a little worthy of the awesome person that she really is. She’ll find a guy who can be the person she deserves, who can tell Murphy that he wants to be with his little sister, and who will handle Murphy’s reaction… Sadly, that’s not you. You made your bed, and it’s empty, so have fun laying in it.” Bellamy turned and left his friend to digest the verbal lashing that he just got. Bellamy never pulled punches when it came to telling the truth… The real honesty was that the truth is harsh and often cruel. He didn’t sweeten the truth to spare someone’s feelings… It just wasn’t in his nature.

Bellamy spent the rest of his day with the guys… Miller eventually joined them, but he was visibly defeated and more subdued than his normal calm appearance, but no one asked him to talk. They acted like everything was normal. The hung out, played pool, watched TV, discussed bits of business, and ragged Bellamy about Clarke a ton. Bellamy finally got fed up and declared that the next person to tease him would ensure that the whole group wouldn’t get to see her for a whole month. Bellamy was actually a little shocked how effective the threat worked. It was amusing to see how quickly they all took to her. They asked Bellamy what she liked and didn’t, and made observations about things they thought she would like or things they wanted to tell her.

He talked on and off with Clarke throughout the day, through text message, making her laugh with comments and questions the guys wanted to know. When Bellamy got the message from Sterling that said she was getting ready to leave work, Bellamy got ready to leave the club… That’s when all hell broke loose.

“Can I come?!” Monty asked.

“Yeah! Me too. Please? We’ll be on our best behavior ever! Scouts honor…” Jasper said holding up three fingers.

“Jasper, you were never a boy scout.” Bellamy said amused, getting up from the couch.

“PLEASE!” Lucca begged.

“Don’t make me sit on you.” Monty said, trying to sound threatening.

“Boss… Pretty please with a guava on top?” Romeo said holding his hands together like he was praying.

“Nope…” Bellamy said heading for the door. Next thing Bellamy knew, he had something attached to one of his legs causing him to stumble. Bellamy stopped and looked down to see Murphy clinging to his leg. He was on his stomach, sprawled out on the floor, hugging his leg. Bellamy tried to take a step to shake the man off, but only succeeded in dragging him across the floor. “Murphy, let go.” Bellamy grunted, taking another step, and dragging the oversized man-child further.

“No…” Murphy huffed like the five-year-old Bellamy swore he was.

“Damn it.” Bellamy cursed taking another step and almost falling face forward. All the other guys were whining and begging to come along too, from behind him.

“Guys!” Bellamy said loudly, cutting them off. “She just got off work… She’s tired, and she doesn’t need you overgrown delinquents in her apartment. Besides I’d have to ask her, and I don’t want her to have to deal with your craziness after putting up with it all day yesterday.”

“Okay, firstly… Ouch. We have feelings over here.” Antonio said. “Second… What if she’s okay with us coming over? We won’t know because you won’t ask.”

“Yeah, why do you get to see her?” Monty huffed petulantly.

“Yeah… What are you so special?” Jasper glared.

“We want to see her too…” Diego mumbled a bit put out, not being able to go.

“Fine!” Bellamy said exasperatedly. “What if I call later in the evening and let her talk to you?” Bellamy asked compromising.

Everyone seemed to think it over… He slowly got some agreements. A few head nods and mumbled affirmatives. Murphy dropped his arms, freeing Bellamy, but made no move to get up. He just laid face down on the floor.

“Jasper… Come drag me back to the couch… I’m too lazy.” Murphy said pathetically, his voice sort of muffled by the floor.

Jasper sighed heavily… “Fine you lackadaisical koala bear.” Jasper said before slowly rolling off the couch and crawling over to Murphy. He tugged on Murphy’s foot a couple of times before falling on the floor as well saying “It’s Sunday. God said rest. Monty… Come get me.” He said with a fake pout holding his arm out for his friend to come help him.

“Okay you sluggish slug.” Monty mumbled rolling over the back of the couch onto the floor. “Never mind, I change my mind. Lucca pull me back up onto the couch. Eh-Eh-Eh…” He said waving his short arm in the air.

Bellamy rolled his eyes and decided that was the perfect moment to take his leave. He knew what was going to happen. In ten minutes’ time, all the guys would be in various positions on the floor calling across the room for someone to come get them. They’d stay on the floor for an hour or so before they all slowly made their way back to the massive couch on their own. It was actually pretty humorous to watch. They tended to act like this when they didn’t get their way… It was like being told no or not getting their way, physically sapped all the strength in their bodies.

Bellamy rolled his eyes once again and turned for the door, leaving, but not before hearing Lucca’s reply to Monty, “On my way, my slothful sloth.”

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy stopped at his favorite take-out place and the corner store to grab a couple of packs of gummy bears, before heading over to Clarke’s apartment. He figured she’d already be home since he had such a hard time getting his guys to let him leave without a fuss, and then stopping for food, but to his surprise, she wasn’t. In fact, she didn’t show up for another 15 minutes. Bellamy resisted the urge he had to call her and Sterling to make sure nothing had happened. Instead, he exercised his patience, and waited… patiently… While slowly going out of his mind with worry… Those fifteen minutes seemed like the longest in his life.

When she did appear, Bellamy was instantly concerned. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted. Her hair was thrown up haphazardly in a ponytail, and she was wearing her hospital scrubs. What really had Bellamy worried, was how dejected she looked. Her shoulders were hunched over as if she was trying to make herself smaller. Her eyes were cast down so she hadn’t seen him yet. When she did though, the utter sadness in her eyes caused his heart to stop, before it started up again seeing her sadness replace by surprise first then happiness upon seeing him standing there by her door.

“Bell…” She sighed, almost relieved, confusing Bellamy for a moment, while also making him weak in the knees. Her happiness at seeing him never failed to so stop him in his tracks and warm his entire being.

He shrugged the confusion off and opened his arms, beckoning her forward. “Come here Princess…” She accepted his gesture and walked to him hugging him tightly. He felt her small tense frame relax into him immediately. After a moment of just holding her, he slipped her keys from her hand and opened the door before picking up the bag of food resting on the ground and guiding her inside with his free arm still around her, kicking the door closed behind him. He sat her down at the kitchen bar and sat the food on the counter. Bellamy grabbed her bag and keys and set them on the entry way table before heading back to Clarke who had her head resting on her hands on the bar watching him.

“You want to talk about it Princess?” Bellamy asked watching her out of the corner of his eye while grabbing two plates from the cabinet and some silverware from the drawer.

She watched him for a minute more while he dished the food onto the two plates, setting one on the bar in front of her and the other at an empty seat beside her. She sat up as he walked around to sit next to her, before beginning to talk. “I had a rough shift… Lost a patient on the table due to heart complications, and baby Griffin is having some complications preventing him from leaving until later in the week. My uh… My mother called today too, as I was getting ready to leave work, and I forgot to look at the caller ID before answering.” She mumbled, pushing the food around on her plate with her fork, worrying Bellamy further. She sounded like she had a really shitty day at work, so he was sure she hadn’t eaten properly throughout the day, but that shouldn’t have stopped her from eating dinner… It was almost like she had no appetite. Something was seriously wrong. Then her words registered in his brain. Her mom…

“What’d she say?” Bellamy asked around the lump in his throat.

“She informed me that her, my dad, and my brother would be coming to New York next Saturday.” She said sadly.

“Isn’t that a good thing though? I’m sure you’ve missed them.” Bellamy said trying to get her excited for the visit. He knew for a fact that she did indeed miss her dad and brother something fierce… Her mom too, even if she was reluctant to admit it.

“It would be if it weren’t for the fact that the only reason my parents were coming here in the first place is for an important business meeting my dad has Saturday afternoon that we all have to go to, including me. The only reason my brother is tagging along, is because he says he wants to see me.” She said smiling weakly at the mention of her brother. “My mother also called Jackson setting up a tour of the hospital and lunch on Sunday before they all leave, so she can, quote, ‘check-up on me’, and she ordered I attend, so I have to go to that… She of course couldn’t end the call then, no, she had to tear into me for answering my phone while I was at work, even though I tried telling her I was off the clock. Then I made the mistake of pointing out she was the one who called me. I ended up just hanging up the phone. I couldn’t handle her yelling at me and scolding me like a three-year-old after the day I’ve had. I am so happy you’re here, but I won’t get to see you next weekend.” She said looking up at him with a miserable expression making his heart clench painfully in his chest, before dropping her face back to her uneaten food. She dropped her fork, and halfheartedly pushed the plate away.

“Hey…” Bellamy murmured, swiveling her stool around so she was facing him. He hooked his index finger under her chin, raising her face up to look at him. “It’s going be okay…” He said with conviction, hoping to calm some of the anxiety he could see building in her eyes. Everything would be okay if he had anything to do say about it. “It’s your parent’s loss for not having come to see you sooner… I know your brother is probably ecstatic to see you, and so is your dad too if I had to guess. You are such an amazing doctor, and your mom will have nothing to say that can contradict that fact… And if she does, I bet Jackson will put her in her place. It was perfectly acceptable to hang up the phone on her. As for us not seeing each other, it’s only two days, and then they’ll be gone. I will only be a phone call away… All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll whisk you away to do some sightseeing or go to the beach… Anything you want to do. We’ll even drag your brother along. I’ll have all my guys run interference to get you away from the Wicked Witch of the West…” She smiled a watery smile at his nickname for her mother. “I should probably warn you, interference will more than likely include ridiculous code names, walkie-talkies, half of New York losing power, the other half of the city burning to the ground, a huge battle between King Kong and Godzilla if they can swing it, and robots… Lots of robots.”

“Oh my…” She said smiling bigger. “The scary part of that is, I don’t doubt that any of that is an exaggeration… It would all happen.”

“Definitely…” Bellamy agreed. “As for your day at work… It was your patient’s time to go. It wasn’t your fault they died, and there was nothing you could have done, that you didn’t already do, that could have saved them. I know baby Griffin will be just fine and healthy enough to leave by the end of the week because he has the greatest, kindest, gentlest doctor in the world watching out for him.” He said making her stunning blue eyes swim with tears at the praise and honest words.

“Thank you Bellamy… You know what’s even worst though? I’m all out of frozen gummy bears.” She said pouting adorably. “I meant to stop at the store, but I forgot with the distressing phone call and all the craziness.”

Bellamy grinned… Now that was something he could fix at that very moment. He got up and walked around the bar to the bag on the counter and pulled both packages of the sweet bears out, showing them to her. Her eyes widened to comical proportions. “How did you know?” She asked amazed as Bellamy opened the freezer and set them inside the door.

“You told me yesterday before we left for the zoo. It was thrown in somewhere between scolding your shoes for hiding from you, and telling me you wanted to see a zebra.”

“Oh…” She said blushing. “Yeah, I was kind of all over the place yesterday.” She said sheepishly with a hand wave.

Bellamy just shook his head, grinning at her adoringly. He found scatterbrained Clarke completely charming. She was so cute; it was almost unbelievable. “Now, let’s eat this amazing dinner I made.” Bellamy said playfully, slipping back into his seat.

“You made?” She asked giggling, picking up her fork and taking a hearty bite, which pleased Bellamy to no end… It looked like she had her appetite back.

“Oh yes… Didn’t you see me put it on the plate?” Bellamy asked her with fake confusion.

“You mean from the box? Yes, I did see that.” She said giggling again, with an eye roll. “You’re a really good cook.” She said jokingly between bites of food.

“Thank you.” Bellamy said grinning, happy that she was back to being the happy, warm, playful Clarke he knew and…

Bellamy paused, his thought just hanging there. His smile fell as he gulped and cleared his throat.

“Are you okay?” Clarke asked concerned, sensing something was wrong.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” He said in a strangled tone.

He could tell she didn’t believe him, but thankfully she didn’t ask… Instead she began throwing meal ideas out for Tuesday’s dinner with his grandmother. While it did distract him from the crazy direction his thoughts ALMOST took him, he still had the slip up lurking in the back of his mind.

He was going to say _like_ … He was, okay?... She was back to being the happy, warm, playful Clarke he knew and, _liked_. Bellamy mentally scoffed… He just lied to himself, and he knew it too. _You’re so stupid…_ His subconscious shook its head at him. _Yeah, I know…_ Bellamy thought back. He couldn’t admit the truth though… Not yet anyway. It was such a strange thing, and it scared him. He didn’t do… _that_ word. He didn’t believe in _that_ word, not him. Oh no… Hell, he couldn’t even bring himself to say or think the actual word properly… How was he supposed to feel what the word meant? He shook his foolish thoughts off, and focused on his princess.

They finished dinner and cleaned the kitchen together like they had done every other night that they ate together. Bellamy made sure to put the leftover food in her fridge, for her to reheat later, while she went and changed out of her work clothes.

Before they got too comfortable on the couch and started watching TV, Bellamy sheepishly told her how the guys wanted to talk to her. She was confused, but was okay with it, maybe a little amused too. He called Antonio’s phone, and gave a stern warning that they could only talk to her for five minutes each, before passing over the phone to her. For the next thirty or so minutes Clarke was continuously laughing at whatever the guy she was talking to, said. She asked them questions about what their interests were, and genuinely seemed to enjoy talking to them. Murphy and Jasper hogged the phone of course, and he had to threaten to hang up the phone to get them to hand the phone to someone else. After another round of passing the phone around so they could all say goodnight to her, the phone call finally ended. Clarke told him that she was proud he didn’t punish them for her over reaction the day before, and that she thought they should invite all the guys along when they came across a place they all weren’t banned from, and Bellamy reluctantly agreed.

They settled in for one of her ‘comfort’ movies. Meaning she had them watch Pride and the Prejudice. Of course she fell asleep almost 40 minutes into the movie after having eaten 15 or so cold gummy bears, but Bellamy didn’t mind in the slightest. She was curled into his side with both of her legs hooked over one of his knees, and her head resting on his shoulder. He had one of his arms around her shoulders while he idly twisted one of her loose curls around his index finger. He didn’t even realize he was doing it. He held her for longer than he normally did that night, only moving when her phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of them.

He carefully shifted forward to see who was calling her, not wanting to wake her for no reason. The name displayed on the screen read ‘Birth-Giver’. Bellamy smiled at her contact name for her mom… The name was amusing, but sad at the same time. It indicated that she had no real connection or relationship with her mom, other than the fact that her mother gave her life. It didn’t slip by his notice that she called her mom, mother, while she called her dad, dad. Clarke started to stir beside him, so quickly sent the call to voicemail, hoping it didn’t wake her. He cuddled her back into his side and resumed watching TV, sending the two other calls from her mother to voicemail over the next ten minutes. If it was really important, she’d leave a message, which she didn’t do, so it mustn’t have been important. That was Bellamy’s thinking on the matter anyway. He didn’t want Clarke’s mother upsetting her further than she already had.

As the movie was winding down, Bellamy’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out seeing Jake was calling him. He looked down at the blonde in his arms, while answering the call.

“Blake.” He said lowly, trying not to wake his angel.

“Hey kid.” Came Jake’s disembodied voice from the other end of the line. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah.” Bellamy whispered, still watching Clarke’s peaceful expression and even breathing that indicated she was still sleeping. “Let me call you back in 20.”

“What? Why? Why are you whispering?” Jake asked confused.

“Umm… I’m busy?” He accidentally phrased what he meant to be a statement it in such a way that it came out sounding like he was asking a question. He hadn’t really TOLD anyone about her… Definitely not his dad and uncle. Everyone else seemed to just find out, or already know her. He needed to think on whether or not he wanted to tell Jake about her… He already knew he could trust the older man, but still. He was learning he was a possessive bastard, and was overly cautious about who in his life knew about her… It was for her safety and his sanity really.

“You’re busy? You don’t sound too sure kid. Wait… Are you with a chick? Damn it Bellamy, we talked about this.” Jake sighed, disappointment lacing his voice.

“Listen, it’s not what you think.” Bellamy defended himself. It truly was not at all what the older man was thinking. “I’ll tell you about it when I call you back in 20 okay?”

“Alright.” Jake agreed. “Talk to you soon kid.” He said before hanging up.

Bellamy reluctantly put Clarke in her bed and covered her with the sheet and comforter, before kissing her head gently. She sighed so sweetly in her sleep as he brushed away the stray strands of hair, it took the breath right out of Bellamy’s lungs. He quickly cleaned up and left, locking the door as he went. The drive to his penthouse was quick. He parked and headed upstairs, quickly jumping in the shower and getting ready for bed. He threw on a pair of sleep pants before heading out onto his balcony… He quickly dialed Jake’s phone number and waited as it rang three times before he picked up.

“Griffin.” Jake said gruffly.

“Hey, old man.” Bellamy said in a taut voice.

“What’s the story? You said it wasn’t what I thought, so give it to me straight.” The older man said impatiently.

Bellamy hesitated. He had made his mind up on the drive over to tell Jake about Clarke… Jake was going to be the first person Bellamy told about her, but he just didn’t know how to begin.

“Where do I start?” Bellamy asked hoarsely.

“From the beginning son… From the beginning.” Jake coached gently. Jake could tell Bellamy was nervous. Something was going on, because his Bellamy was never nervous. He prepared himself for the worst…

So the beginning is where Bellamy started… He recounted the last three amazing weeks he’d had. The best in his life, if he were honest. From Clarke finding and saving him and Adam after the failed assassination attempt to the dinner he’d had with her not two hours ago. He told him everything… Everything but her name that is. Bellamy worried the older man would check up on her, in the interest to protect him, and he didn’t want that. He avoided calling her by her name, and just called her his princess or his angel. He told Jake how she had no idea who he was, how she interacted with his grandmother so fantastically, and how she handled his guys. The reverence in his tone when he spoke of her couldn’t be masked or disguised, and Bellamy didn’t really try.

Jake was silent for the most part, letting the younger man tell his tale, only interrupting to ask a question or two. When he was finished, Bellamy waited patiently to see what his mentor’s reaction would be. Jake’s approval meant the world to him… He didn’t know what he would do if Jake disliked Clarke.

 “Sounds like you got it bad kid…” Jake said amused. “How’s your grandmother handling this development?” He questioned

“Not good.” Bellamy grumbled.

“What are you talking about? I thought she’d be over the moon about this.” Jake said confused.

“Oh no, she’s over the whole freaking galaxy about this. Don’t get me wrong, when I say not good, I mean she’s not handling her absolute and utter glee very well. She’s always squealing, or clapping, or plotting things, and other weird behavior. I swear, if I weren’t one-hundred percent sure she was in tip top shape for a woman at her age, I would be worried that the amount of excitement she has over our friendship would give her a heart attack. I’m currently on the run from her actually… I can’t be in the same room with her without my princess there to act as a buffer, because I’m afraid she’s either going to threaten to murder me or black mail me into telling her everything.”

Jake started chuckling on the other end of the phone, ‘til it grew to a full out belly-laugh. He laughed for a good solid minute before calming some. “Oh jeez, I haven’t laughed that hard in a while kid…”

“Yeah, well I’m not going to be able to hide from her for much longer… I’ve got Thursday dinner this week, and my angel has to work, so I’m on my own. I’m thinking of calling, pretending to be sick, and then heading to your neck of the woods for a day or so… Its either that or you’re going to be attending my funeral.”

Jake chucked again. “Well kid, there’s a couple of flaws with your plan. Firstly, you know she would hunt your ass down, and while I would love a visit from you, I really don’t want to see you murdered before my very eyes by your terrifying, yet slightly sweet grandmother. I could picture it now… You bleeding out on the floor, and then her offering me a cookie.” He said laughing again, this time with Bellamy joining in. Once the two men had their bearings, Jake continued. “Secondly, from what I hear, you wouldn’t be able to drag yourself away from your girl for an hour let alone a day or two.” Bellamy’s heart beat erratically in his chest hearing Jake refer to Clarke as ‘his’ girl. He liked it… Liked it a lot. “And then lastly, the reason I called actually, I’m coming to town Friday night.” Jake said wearily.

Bellamy was instantly concerned. “What’s happening?”

“I’m meeting with your dad Saturday morning so I can see if I can trade some hardware for some man power. This situation with the Canadians isn’t handling itself like I was hoping it would. In fact, it’s gotten progressively worst. According to my intel, I’ve got not just the Indo-Canadians, but the Outlaw MC’s and the Aboriginal Native Americans all on my ass too. They joined together…”

“What?” Bellamy asked confused. “That’s not possible.” Bellamy said in astonishment. “Who all is in on it and why?” Bellamy asked bewildered.

“The Aboriginal gangs out of Manitoba, the Indo Canadians out of British Colombia, and the outlaws out of Alberta. They want to work with the cartels down in Mexico, and start getting their commodities from straight down there, but they don’t want to pay their dues to go through my territory. They refuse to compromise, same as me. Then they decided they wanted more territory so they can pave a road, boarder to boarder, and well… War’s knocking on my doorstep kid. I’ve got the backing of some of the other families, but no one will cough up supplies and such. Bunch of scared lazy bastards.” Jake mumbled. “I’m in a bind, and I can’t just go on a recruiting spree… I wouldn’t have enough time to fully train the pups. It would be even more of a blood bath than it already is. All they would be doing is dropping more bodies left and right.”

“Damn…” Bellamy sighed heavily. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What did you mean you ‘the situation isn’t handling itself like you thought it would’?”

“Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t be able to get their act together long enough to be a viable threat. I mean the outlaws are a bunch of vicious brutes, and the Native Americans are just a bunch of hippies with guns. I figured they’d all end up taking each other out, and I’d pick off the survivors. Bam… over and done with, but they’re actually working together…”

This was bad. The situation was so much worse than what Jake originally made it out to be. Bellamy shouldn’t have been surprised really… Jake was the master of downplaying things. Everything Bellamy knew about trivializing things, he learned from Jake.

Jake could practically feel the younger man’s anxiety through the phone. “Listen kid, everything will be fine, ya hear? We’ll come over this weekend, I’ll talk with your dad, we’ll trade somethings, and then me and the family will leave. Easy-peesy.” Jake said trying to make light of the situation. It didn’t work.

“Look, I’ll take some time off work,” Bellamy said, a plan already forming in his head. “The guys, some of my other men, and I will head over to the west coast, and we’ll have the whole situation done and dealt with in a week.” Bellamy implored.

“No…” Jake said firmly. “I can’t have you handling my problems for me. This isn’t anything new kid… I’ve fought wars like this before, and survived. Come out on the other side unscathed, and this will be the same. We are done talking about this, unless you’re ready to talk about my offer?” Jake asked.

Bellamy sighed heavily, but remained quiet. Before, he’d had nothing really holding him to the city other than loyalty to his family, and even that was unstable at best. His company could be moved, and his grandmother could come visit him where ever he relocated to, but now… Well, he had Clarke. Jake wasn’t wrong when he said he couldn’t go an hour without her… He was actually pretty spot on, but that was neither here nor there. The point was he was rooted in this city now more than ever, and couldn’t just up and move to become boss of the Griffin Crime Family.

Instead, they discussed travel and lodging arrangements for Jake and his family. Bellamy would be sending his private jet to get them all from SeaTac in Seattle and bringing them back to JFK here in New York. They would have two cars take them all straight to the hotel, seeing as how it would be very late Friday night. The next morning, the meeting would be held at Blake Tower, so that is where they would all head to from the hotel. Bellamy decided to have the meeting at his company headquarters instead of some other usual location like the club because it was Jake and his family he was meeting. Bellamy had gone numerous time over the years to visit Jake in Seattle, and they had occasionally met up if they were both in the same part of the country or world on business, but Jake had never visited Bellamy. So Bellamy was taking this opportunity to show off his accomplishments to the older man who was his mentor, and so very important to him.

As the phone conversation wound down, Jake told Bellamy he was proud of him and promised to see him real soon before hanging up. Bellamy sat on his balcony for a few minutes longer pondering the possibilities of getting a chance to get Clarke away from her overbearing mother, and introducing her to Jake. He knew she also had family coming in… _What a coincidence…_ Bellamy mused, thinking how they both had family coming into town to stay on the same weekend. He considered Jake family. _You’re so stupid…_ He subconscious shook its head at him. _It is right in front of you, you blind moron… how can you not see it?!_

Bellamy shove the pesky voice to the farthest recesses of his mind and decided to forget about it. It was more of a hindrance than a help anyway. Bellamy fell asleep that night nervous and excited for the coming week. He had a feeling the week was going to be huge, and big things were going to happen, but he was strangely optimistic in the outcomes he wished for. He had no idea how wrong he actually was to be optimistic…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright my lovelies... First off, questions... What did you consider the best part of their week? Their lunch dates, dinner with Nonni, or everything that started on Saturday? What did you all think of the cute Bellarke dancing to Carly Rea Jepson's 'I Really Like You' before heading off to the zoo? Adorbs right? Just for your info, it was the music video version they were listening to. Now on to the guys... Sheer craziness am I right? And they upset poor Clarke!!! How could they!! How much did you love the Bellamy comforting and reassuring Clarke scene? What did you think about their lunch with the guys and the new nicknames everyone got? Anyone think Miller was justified in being suspicious about Clarke? Miller and Katie seem to be on the rocks :/ I know several of you were asking when we'd see Jake again, so what did you all think of their call and Bellamy telling him about Clarke? Jake's coming to town... Ya'll can guarantee stuff is gonna go down, and things are gonna happen, so stay tuned :)
> 
> Now, IMPORTANT THING HERE... I wont be updating next week. I know, I know, groan. But seriously, I have got so much stuff to do for school, my grandparents 55th wedding anniversary coming up, and all the craziness that comes along with that. I haven't been writing as much and as often as I would like recently, and its caused me to get behind. Not to mention these chapters are so long, and take a ton of time to write!! This chapter is the last that I have stored up, and I'm a little uncomfortable writing on a chapter by chapter basis because I tend to go back and change or add things to fit my plot... I don't want me constantly changing things to confuse you guys or hurt the plot, so a break is needed. I plan to update again on the 25th of this month. You all were so understanding last time, and I hope you'll still be understanding this time around :/ I would truly appreciate it. 
> 
> I love you all so much, and the continued support I get from each and everyone of you with comments, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions brings tears of joy and gratitude to my eyes. I never expected for my story to be loved this much, have such an impact, and help so many people out... Thank you to me doesn't seem to say enough, but its all I've got, so THANK YOU!!!  
> -Redhead17x
> 
> Spoiler for next chapter: Clarke and Nonni have a day out, and Bellamy is frustrated. Bellamy forgets an important day, and scrambles to make up for it. Bellamy has some realizations, and makes a plan. Fortunately, yes I said fortunately, those plans get blown out the window.  
> Also, if anyone would like know the songs on Clarke's mix CD for Bellamy, lemme know, and I might put them up next chapter :)


	15. Operation Bouncing Baby Blake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my peoples... Sorry for the kinda late up date. Most ridiculous day ever chose today to happen. So I've gotten an average amount of writing done, and lemme just say... Your gonna friggin' LOVE it! This chapter has it all really... The guys, Nonni, Jake, the Bellarke... Oh the Bellarke feels... Is anyone in bed reading this chapter? It's okay, you wont be for long. I guar-an-tee you're fixing to be up, jumping up and down by the end of the chapter...
> 
> THANK YOU to all my lovely readers and commenters last chapter... I think I've sort of taken you all for granted in how supportive and encouraging you've been to me, so just know that I love each and every one of you, and I appreciate you all.
> 
> The warning for this chapter is just the whiplash you'll get, because things start off one was in the beginning and then do a full 180 by the end. Happy reading, and be sure to check out the A/N at the end ;)  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 15- Operation Bouncing Baby Blake**

The next day, Monday, found Bellamy stuck in a department head meeting. As he watched the clock intently, the seconds hand ticked twice before hitting 12 o’clock on the dot, and then continued on ticking as if Bellamy wasn’t missing out on what had become his favorite part of the work day… Lunch with Clarke. To say he was pissed he was still in this meeting would be an understatement. It should have ended over and hour and a half ago, but it looked like he still had an hour to go. He’d already been there since eight that morning! These people picked the wrong day to disagree with everything anyone said, or come unprepared. Take for instance, the sweaty stuttering mess of a man standing in front of him who had no damn clue what he was talking about, and it was painfully obvious he was wholly unprepared for this meeting.

Bellamy’s phone vibrated on the solid oak conference table in front of him causing everyone to turn and look at him. He was seated at the head of the table with the clearest view of everything going on in front of him, including the door. Behind him and to his left, New York City lay sprawled out beneath him, displayed by the glass floor to ceiling windows of the conference room, which was located on the top floor of his 46 story office building. He had this conference room, his office, his COO’s office, and a couple other important peoples offices situated on this floor. They all of course had their secretaries on the floor, and a waiting area by the elevator.

His phone vibrated again on a 30 second reminder that he had a message. Everyone was still watching him, even the current speaker who didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. The speaker was looking hopeful, like Bellamy would put him out of his misery and say he was done. Bellamy picked up his phone, seeing Clarke had sent him a message. He kept his face a perfect mask of indifference, not showing a hint of emotion, while his eyes flicked up to see everyone still gazing at him. He did not like them watching, more like openly gawking, at him like they were… Bellamy knew they were looking for any indication as to what the message said, or who it was from, seeing as how his phone was usually turned off during meetings. If anyone close to him needed him, they knew to call the office phone and he’d get the message, but Bellamy had taken to keeping his phone on, but silenced to vibrate, during meetings so he could constantly be in contact with Clarke or Sterling, in case something happened to Clarke.

All the people currently looking at him were looking for a sign of weakness, a twitch, a smile, a flinch, anything to make their boss seem more human, and even more so… Flawed. Bellamy wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction, so he clicked off the screen without reading the message. He kept his face completely blank, not letting the immense agitation he was feeling with these people show. He should be WITH Clarke, or at least on his way to her, not sitting here with a bunch of nosey fools who didn’t seem to know how to do their jobs… It seemed he was about to be looking into some future staffing changes.

He stood and put his phone in his pocket before planting his hands firmly on the table in front of him, and leaning over the table slightly. He pulled out his ‘panic attack’ voice as Clarke had adorably taken to calling it and spoke.

“Mr. Travely, you have ten minutes to get something together that both makes sense and impresses me. You should work like your job depends on it, because it does. Everyone else gets a ten-minute break… I suggest you use it wisely. The next person to waste my time today is getting fired. You have all been warned. Now go, before I change my mind.” Bellamy barked, dismissing them, and then watching as they all scrambled from the room, but none as quick as Travely.

Bellamy sighed before walking back to his office which was only a door down. He pulled out his phone and sat on the big, expensive black leather couch in his office, leaning his elbows on his knees, with his phone cradled in his hands. He quickly read through the message smiling a little as he did. She wrote:

_Hey, are we still on for lunch? I’ve got an extra-long lunch today, so I figured I could take a cab to mid-town, and we could meet up to try this new Italian place that just opened. Emori says it’s amazing. Whatcha think? –Clarke_

Boy, did he want to take her up on her offer, and skip out on this train wreck of a meeting he was dreading returning to, but alas, he couldn’t. That fact alone sunk what remained of his mood, faster than the Titanic. Responsibility and owning your own company sucked. So it was with a heavy heart he replied…

_I really wish I could Princess, but this meeting is taking way longer than I expected, so I can’t make lunch today. Forgive me? –Bellamy_

_Of course… Always. Can we go out tonight, or are you still going to be busy? –Clarke_

Bellamy couldn’t help but grin. He loved when she initiated their outings… He didn’t know why, but he did. To know that she wanted to see him, spend time with him, and talk to him had his stomach flipping around in his gut like it wasn’t attached to anything, every single time.

_No way, we’re totally going out, and I’ve got the perfect place in mind… Well it’s two places actually. –Bellamy_

_Two? I’m intrigued. Alright then, I’ll see you later :) –Clarke_

_You sure will Princess…_ Bellamy paused, thinking, more like worrying, before typing, _Will you do something for me though? For my peace of mind? -Bellamy_

_What? –Clarke_

_Eat a good lunch… Please? –Bellamy_

He didn’t get a response, and he had to get back to the meeting from hell. About 9 or 10 minutes into the meeting, Bellamy got a text message from Clarke. Opening it, he saw a six-inch sub, a cup of yogurt, a small bag of chips, and a bottle of water all neatly arraigned on a table. Then he got another message. This one was a picture of his beautiful princess in her scrubs with her long golden braid hanging over one shoulder while she held the sub up like she was fixing to take a bite, looking in the direction of the camera. Her facial expression was so engaging, he has to resist the urge to throttle these people and leave to go find her. He got another one… This one clearly showed she had taken a bite of the sandwich, and was enjoying it very much. Bellamy had to discreetly shift around to get comfortable as a bolt of arousal hit him like a Mack truck.

This wasn’t the first time he’d had this reaction to her or something she did. She was the hottest woman in the world to him, and well… He was a red blooded male with perfect eyesight. There would have to be something wrong with him if he wasn’t attracted to her. The thing was, he couldn’t pursue her or act on his attraction for her. He didn’t do relationships… Didn’t know _how_ was more like it, but who cared? Point was, they didn’t happen for him, and he was pretty sure she wasn’t the one night stand or the friends with benefits type. Besides, both of those options would ruin the already wonderful friendship he had with her, and he was also pretty sure he couldn’t just hit it and quit it with her anyhow… One time wouldn’t be enough. So it looked like more silent suffering and more cold showers… That’s how he had survived the past few weeks anyway.

He read the message attached to the last photo…

_Your piece of mind has now surely been restored, all at the expense of me looking like an idiot sitting here taking pictures while eating my lunch. Now, you must return the favor, and promise me to eat lunch. Fair is fair :P –Clarke_

Bellamy quickly responded, promising to eat lunch, while his heart beat sped up beneath his rib cage at the care and concern she was so blatantly displaying for him… He quickly tuned back into the meeting and focused on not firing anyone. The break seemed to work wonders… Everyone was cooperating with one another, and prepared when they stood to speak. By the end, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief when the boss stood and nodded once with a gruff, “Good work everyone.” Before exiting the room.

The rest of the day seemed to pass ridiculously slowly for Bellamy. He made sure to eat something like he promised, but he was grumpy for the rest of the day. Finally, five o’clock rolled around, and Bellamy was able to leave. He went back to his apartment and got ready for their evening out.

He picked Clarke up from her apartment and took her to see Grand Central Station and Time Square. They ate dinner at the Italian place she wanted to go to earlier in the afternoon, and talked. Throughout the night, Bellamy found himself cursing his inability to have an honest to goodness genuine relationship with… That L-word… and the things that came with it. He wanted to be more than friends with Clarke… He could admit that to himself now. More than friends sounded so sweet, but even he knew, thanks to his grandmother who preached on the subject often enough, that to have a successful relationship, you had to have honesty and truthfulness at the root, neither of which he could offer Clarke. He hadn’t corrected her when she made inferences from what she was told about his job title… That wasn’t technically a lie, but it was close enough… Actually, the word deceitfulness came to mind, and that was ten times worse than an almost lie. He had purposely withheld his actual job title and the fact that he owned his own company. Hell, that didn’t even open the Pandora’s Box that was his mob life. He would have to lie to her every time he had to skip out on her to go deal with ‘business’, and have to live with keeping this giant secret from her… He couldn’t do that, he just couldn’t, so wanting something more, and unable to reach out and take it was where he was.

He knew she could find out either secret tomorrow, and never speak to him again. He just had this feeling in his gut something bad was fixing to happen. Not at that very moment or anything, he knew they weren’t in imminent danger, but in the very near future was a whole different story… Things were going too smoothly for him, too right. Something was going to mess it all up, he could feel it, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what that something was.

It was all those thoughts combined that had him constantly within arm’s reach of her the whole night, like if she was out of his sight for even a second, she would disappear and he would have nothing left but his memory, for which she was forever permanently engraved in. As much as he hated it, he was feeling vulnerable, and needed to have her as close as possible, so he often had her tucked safely into his side with his arm around her waist, or holding her hand, anything to feel the electricity humming between them. It was once such a foreign, strange feeling, that he now found comfort and solace in. Clarke gave him a few strange looks, but never asked or commented. Bellamy tried to excuse his actions anyway, playfully saying she would get lost easily, and he would have to call in reinforcements to help him find her with her being so short. She rolled her eyes at him, lightly hitting his chest, and laughed.

After their fun filled night was over, Bellamy left her at her door with a promise to talk to her the next day, and a kiss on the forehead that may have lingered a bit too long to be ‘just friends’ approved, but Bellamy didn’t care, and neither did Clarke.

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy woke up the next morning in a foul mood. Clarke had the whole day off, and he wouldn’t get to see her until that night… Why did he not agree to lunch with her and his grandmother? Oh yeah, because he was being ‘considerate’. That was obviously never happening again. His grandmother, however, got to spend just about the whole day with her. In fact, his grandmother made it a point to call him the night before to ‘check on him’. She asked once… ONCE… how he was doing, and when he responded that he was fine, she quickly jumped into telling him a very detailed description of all the plans she had made with Clarke for the next day. The plans were, after meeting up for lunch, they planned to go shopping for the rest of the afternoon before going back to her apartment and starting dinner. They would of course wait for him to arrive at six, and he was not to be one minute late, or there would be consequences. She stressed that part.

His grandmother couldn’t hide her glee and excitement… It was almost like she was rubbing it in his face that she got to spend more time with Clarke. Bellamy knew it was irrational because he saw Clarke just about every day and spent more time with her than his grandmother ever had, but he was still jealous as hell. He was also concerned she would spill the beans about either of his secrets to his princess. Today was just not his day.

All throughout the day, Sterling kept him informed of their location, and occasionally sending photos. Both women seemed to already have such a close relationship after only a handful of weeks. Bellamy didn’t doubt his grandmother already considered his princess something akin to a granddaughter in her mind. She had said she always wanted one, and while he didn’t know for sure, it was clear Clarke adored, loved, and respected the older woman. Getting Sterling’s updates and pictures as well a few messages from Clarke kept Bellamy sane for most of the day… Sane, but not even remotely happy, and it showed. He snapped at anyone for any reason it seemed. Roma was in tears by the end of the day, and while he hoped she would quit, she just wiped the smudges from her face and went back to her desk. Bellamy was starting to think no matter what he did, he’d never get her to quit. Around four o’clock, Clarke messaged him right before he went into a meeting, reminding him not to be late to dinner, or he’d be in big trouble, and she told him he wouldn’t want to miss it. He had no idea what the two women were making, and Clarke refused to tell him. She said it was a surprise. He knew she was getting him back for all the surprises he’d kept from her. He also knew better than to ask his grandmother.

The short 30 minute introductory meeting that was requested by the other CEO before price negotiations and such began over the coming weeks wasn’t short… In fact, it was running over by about an hour. Bellamy watched as the clock struck 5:30 on the dot. He was going to be late. He couldn’t just stand up and leave… He wanted this moderate sized communications company, but this pompous old CEO just. Kept. Talking. Business 101 dictated you not piss off the person you were trying to buy something from. Normally Bellamy would have just stayed and listened to the boring ass man go on about how he pioneered the blah blah blah in the blah blah blah, all night if need be. He would have charmed the older man right out of his adult diaper ‘til everything was settled and the old geezer was satisfied and happy to hand his company over to Bellamy, but now he actually had somewhere to be… Someone to see. More like two someone’s, but he was thinking of a blue eyed blonde in particular that he was eager to get to. So, he called in his COO, Jacapo Sinclair, to take over the meeting. Sinclair was an older man in his late 40’s, and he was worth his weight in gold. He was an extremely loyal, hardworking COO, and Bellamy couldn’t have been more proud of his decision to bring him on board back when he was first starting up his company.

As the conference room door closed behind him, he let out a huge sigh. He felt a twinge of guilt for leaving Sinclair to die of boredom in the room, but it he had more pressing matters like dealing with the two extremely upset woman he was fixing to have on his hands when he was late for dinner. He rushed toward his office, passing Roma’s desk and seeing that she had already left for the day, before barging into his office, slamming the door behind him. He walked two quick steps toward his desk before a loud off beat chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ and sudden bodies jumping up from behind furniture, made him jump back against the door, and pull his gun.

Before he fired off a round, he saw a pair of neon yellow, green, orange and purple sneakers poking out from underneath his desk… He knew those shoes. Slowly he noticed all of his guys in the room, in various places, all yelling and screaming at him not to shoot while dropping to the floor or ducking behind furniture. Bellamy’s heart pounded furiously in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his body.

“Damn it.” He bit out breathing heavily, pushing off the door and stowing his gun at his back. “How many times have I told you morons NOT to jump out or try to surprise me? I could have shot all of you before I fully realized what I was doing. You can all thank Murphy for wearing those ridiculous ass sneakers.”

There were various mumbles of ‘Thank you Murphy’ from all over the room. Unlike everyone else in the room who had ducked for cover behind something, Jasper had just flopped down on the floor. Jasper, who was on the floor in the middle of the room, was laying on his back with his hands over his eyes like he was playing hide-and-seek, and no one could see him if he couldn’t see them. Bellamy shook his head and sighed heavily again. He walked over to his desk, stepping over Jasper and began quickly packing his stuff up while all the guys slowly got up of the floor. Their words suddenly registered in his mind stopping him dead in his tracks.

“Did you all say happy birthday?” He scoffed, they all nodded. “It’s not my birthday… My birthday is June 23. Today is the…” He trailed off. _What WAS todays date again?_

“June… Twenty… Third…” Diego enunciated, pulling Bellamy from his musings on the days date.

“Oh shit…” Bellamy said stunned. He had forgotten his own birthday, and his grandmother… His grandmother KNEW!! She and Clarke were currently waiting for him, and they probably planned something, to which he was now for sure going to be late to. Why else would he have been warned repeatedly by both women to not be late? Great… Just great. “I gotta go…” Bellamy said bolting for the door throwing his messenger bag over his shoulder, as all the guys ran to keep up.

“Why? What’s happening?” Monty asked hurriedly as they all piled onto the elevator. Bellamy hit the first floor button repeatedly like it would move quicker if he kept pressing it, knowing Jones was waiting out front for him.

“I forgot today was my birthday, and Clarke and Nonni are waiting for me at her apartment with dinner which I was repeatedly warned by both women not to be late for, and they probably know it’s my birthday, and-and-and oh my God, I’m so screwed…” Bellamy rushed out, panicking.

Miller stepped in front of Bellamy and shook him harshly. “Snap out of it man!” he said sternly.

“Yeah…” Murphy spoke up. “They’ll sense your fear and prey on it! You’ll be holding purses for the rest of your life dude. Better get that panic and fear in check, I can practically smell it on you.” He said sniffing the air to prove his point.

“What do I do guys?” Bellamy asked, sounding like a man on his way to his own hanging.

“You do what Bellamy Blake does best… Turn up the charm brother.” Lucca said in a combined stern and duh voice, that worked for him.

“You need flowers.” Romeo said nodding to himself, pulling out his phone. “I’m sending you the address and phone number of the best florist in New York. She’s great with rush jobs, and she’s on your way I think.” He said typing away on his phone.

“You also need a damn good apology. Note, I said apology not an excuse. You say the word ‘work’ in said apology, and you’re dead meat. We’ll be looking for your body come tomorrow, and we’ll never find it.” Antonio said.

Bellamy nodded taking in everything he was being told. The elevator dinged and they all rushed out of the elevator. The guys were surrounding Bellamy in a giant circle, spouting different defensive attacks.

“Big brown wounded cow eyes.” Jasper said from his right.

“Most disarming, charming, and innocent smile you can muster, use it.” Monty said from behind him. “It works like crazy on Nonni.”

“Be bashful, humble, and sweet. Use that charisma.” Murphy coached walking backwards in front of him, emphasizing each word by slamming one fisted hand into the open palm of his other hand.

Bellamy was continuously nodding. He was sure to the onlookers in the lobby he looked like a bobble head, but he didn’t care. He slipped into the waiting car, closing the car door with a quick “Thanks guys.” before instructing Jones to the flower shop.

“He’s so screwed.” Diego said watching the car merge into 5:45 traffic. He got a unanimous collective ‘yup’, before they scuttled off.

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy exited the flower store with two bouquets of flowers… One of roses, and the other a mixture of yellow daffodils and purple hyacinth. He had what he was going to say planned, he’d psyched himself up, and he was ready to face them. Once he was back in the car, and on his way to Clarke’s apartment, Jones chuckled at him looking at him through the rear view mirror.

“What?” Bellamy asked eyeing the man frostily.

“Nothing, sir. You just look like a man in trouble with a woman.” He said grinning. Bellamy actually cracked a smile.

“Two women, my man, two.” Bellamy said somewhat mournfully. “I don’t know which is worst, my grandmother, or my princess. I’ve never had to handle them ganging up on me together, which is what I think is about to happen. Separated, I’ve got a chance… Together, I just don’t know.” Bellamy said shaking his head, as Jones chuckled again, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.

They pulled up to the apartment building at 6:37, and Bellamy grabbed the flowers before climbing out of the standard black SUV. He sent Jones off, and told him he’d call him when it was time to take him back to his apartment, which could possibly be sooner rather than later. Bellamy took a deep breath before walking into the building. As soon as he reached her floor, Bellamy could smell the food. She was making something Italian… Whatever it was, it smelled divine. He just prayed he got to taste it. He paused at her door and gulped once, before hesitantly rapping twice on her door. The laughing and clattering of dishes and such inside the apartment stopped immediately. He started to sweat… He tugged uselessly at his tie and collar, trying futilely to loosen it. It felt like a 1000 degrees in this hallway.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the door swung open to reveal his scowling grandmother, one hand on her hip, and the other on the open door.

“Hi Nonni…” He said weakly, before clearing his throat and trying again. _No fear!!_ His subconscious pleaded with him… _If you go down, I do to!!_ “You look absolutely stunning today. Did you do something with your hair? Is that a new dress? You look lovely…” He mumbled, trying to look her in the eye, but it wasn’t quite working… His eyes kept going back to his shoes, the default ‘in trouble’ position with his grandmother. He felt eight years old again.

“Hmmm… Nice try Bellamy Alexander Blake. Flattery will get you nowhere today mister. I told you not to be late…” She said with reproach, moving out of the way slightly as a silent command to come inside. He started to flinch hearing her use his full name, and no Italian, but quickly fake coughed to cover it up… _No fear, no fear, no fear._ He chanted to himself. Then he saw Clarke.

She was the absolutely gorgeous standing in her kitchen wearing a black racerback shift dress that stopped mid-thigh, giving him a perfect view of the legs he loved so much. He heard a throat clear, making him realize he’d been checking her out, her right in front of his grandmother… Kinda embarrassing if he was honest, but he couldn’t help it. Clarke glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest, raising one delicate eyebrow as if to say _Really?_... He lived for that spark of fire in her eyes… Just not directed at him negatively. Figuring looking down was safer than every other option he had at the moment, he looked down at his feet again, praying to anyone who’d listen that he got out of this wholly intact, and hopefully with a full belly… After all, a man had to have goals to direct his drive and ambition toward. Bellamy’s sole goal at that moment just happened to be getting the opportunity to eat the amazing food he smelled.

“What do you have to say for yourself Blake? Mind you, this explanation also includes why your grandmother was the one to tell me your birthday was today.” Clarke said coolly, as she walked to where is grandmother was standing, who was looking disappointed and exasperated with him, in front of the front door. _Ouch,_ Bellamy thought in reference to what Clarke called him. He was Blake now, not Bell or Bellamy. He hadn’t been Blake in a while. He also noticed the front door had been completely blocked off by the two women, so there would be no escaping for him. Time to buck up or shut up… Actually, in this situation it might prove to be more advantageous to shut the hell up, but they were both looking at him expectantly.

“Uh… I’m really, truly, irrevocably, honestly, genuinely, sincerely sorry for being late.” He said, widening his big brown eyes, looking at both women imploringly. Charm. He needed lots of charm. He stepped forward, giving his grandmother the roses, saying, “Because I know they’re your favorite, and they mean I love you.” He watched as she visibly softened. He further buttered her up by kissing her cheek.

She sighed, “Oh _il mio amato_ _nipote [my beloved grandson]_ …” He had her hooked… Italian AND a term of endearment. Score. Now Clarke. His grandmother turned and walked off towards the kitchen sink, smelling the roses.

He turned to Clarke handing her the daffodil and hyacinth bouquet. “Do you know the meaning of hyacinth?” He asked her quietly, watching her intensely.

“Yeah…” She said softly looking down at the flowers, “They mean ‘I am Sorry’ or ‘Please Forgive Me’. They also mean sorrow.”

“Well, in this context, they mean I’m sorry I’m late, and please forgive me for not telling you it was my birthday. I actually forgot.” He said sheepishly. “I don’t make a big deal about it… Never have really, not since my mom…” He stopped talking, thinking about his dead mother. He cleared his throat before continuing. “Anyway, I completely forgot what today was… I was a little… Side tracked I guess you could say.” He spoke lowly, so his grandmother wouldn’t hear. He knew she probably could, but he at least made an effort to keep this conversation private.

“Why were you side tracked?” Clarke asked looking up at him confused. She had that little crease between her eyebrows that he wanted to kiss away.

“I didn’t get to have lunch with you today or yesterday, and I missed it… I missed you.” He said gently… Truthfully. He knew she could hear the sincerity in his voice. He heard and watched her swallow hard.

“What are the daffodils for?” She asked.

“What do they mean?” Bellamy asked. He knew what they meant, but he wanted to see if she knew.

“I-I… They mean regard and some…” She cleared her throat, looking down again, blushing. “Some other meanings too.”

“I hold you in the highest regard _mia cara principessa..._ Daffodils also mean ‘The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with you’, which couldn’t be more true for me when I’m with you.” He watched as her blush deepened, and she bit her lip. What he didn’t tell her was the two other meanings of daffodils... He was sure she knew them though. “Am I forgiven?” He asked shyly.

“Always...” She said looking up at him. “What did you just call me though? That was... Italian, right?” She asked with confusion, although it seemed forced... Something seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. The Italian slipped out without him really realizing it, but it covered for him calling her his darling princess... He would have had a hard time explaining that one if it came out in English. It’s not like she knew what he said in Italian anyway.

“It’s nothing...” He mumbled, looking up to where his grandmother was gaping at him with her mouth wide open by the kitchen sink. He rolled his eyes at her, causing her to recover and glare at him for the disrespectful movement. He looked back down at Clarke who was looking at her flowers thoughtfully... He quickly ducked down and kissed the little crease that was still between her eyebrows, drawing her out of her inner musings. She looked up at him and grinned, when suddenly his stomach growled, making her laugh.

“Hungry?” She asked teasingly.

“Ravenous...” Bellamy corrected. He may have not had lunch that day… Or breakfast for that matter, but he wasn’t stupid. No way was he telling either woman that. Hell, he’d just got out of the dog house, no way was he going back in... “Can I have dinner please?” He asked pouting like a child. She laughed again before nodding her head.

“Yes, but you have to wash up first and loose the suit jacket... Maybe your white button-down too... White shirts and tomato sauce don’t mix, and I’ve seen you eat mister.” She said pointing at him threateningly.

“Well then, yes Ma’am...” Bellamy said with a crooked grin and a salute, making her roll her eyes at him and giggle before turning and going to the kitchen.

“Shoes too, Bell...” She called over her shoulder, while both women began to work in the kitchen reheating food. His grandmother gave him a quick questioning look, clearly confused as to what he was supposed to be doing with his shoes, before turning her attention back to Clarke.

Bellamy quickly took his shoes off by the door, and slipped his suit jacket off, hanging it on the coat rack peg by the door that had sort of become his. He also undid his tie and cuff-links slipping them in the pockets of his coat, before starting to unbutton his white button down revealing the white t-shirt he had on underneath. Once that was hung, he walked into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back out, Clarke was taking a pan of something out of the oven. He walked nearer, drawn in by the smell emanating from the covered pan. With a flourish, it was set on top of the stove, and Clarke was removing the foil lid to reveal a pan full of piping hot lasagna... Bellamy’s mouth began watering in earnest.

“Bellamy, will you grab three wine glasses and a bottle out of the wine cooler?” Clarke asked sweetly, while she dished up three helping onto the plates his grandmother was handing her.

“Yeah...” He said easily going over to the cabinet holding her wine glasses and grabbing three, setting them onto the counter before going over to the wine cooler next to the refrigerator. He squatted down opening the door, grabbing a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that he thought would go well with the meal, before standing and closing the small glass door. Setting it on the counter next to the glasses, he walked over to the drawer with the corkscrew in it, feeling eyes on him. He looked over to see his grandmother looking at him with wide eyes, raised eyebrows, a hand on her hip, and her mouth dropped open in pure shock. Clarke didn’t notice with her back turned, humming to herself.

He raised his hands in a _what?_ motion. She took her free hand and waved at him in an up and down motion as if to say, _Look at you!! What the hell is going on? Are you sick?_ Bellamy knew he was a sight to behold, knowing his way around Clarke’s kitchen when he didn’t even know where the blender in his own was. He just shrugged at his grandmother and continued on with his task. Clarke thought it would be a good idea to sit in the living room on the couches to eat dinner, so they weren’t all crowded at the bar. All three plates of food were resting on the coffee table, with the three glasses of wine he’d poured, silverware, and napkins. There was nothing left to do…

Bellamy sat down on the big couch, so unbelievably ready to eat the huge slice of steaming lasagna in front of him, but Clarke and his grandmother were still in the kitchen talking about some recipe that Bellamy was one-hundred percent sure he didn’t care about. He eyed the food intently… He was raised to wait for everyone to sit down and say grace before beginning to eat, but he wondered if that rule still applied in situations like these… You know with him starving to death and all. He felt it didn’t.

 _Just a little bite won’t hurt._ Bellamy reasoned, quickly scooping some of the excess cheese, sauce, and meat onto his fork. Immediately he went to take the delicious bite, and was promptly slapped on the back of the head for his efforts. His grandmother, the sneaky ninja that she was, had snuck up on him while he was taking his time deliberating on whether he could get away with the one bite. She gave him a withering stare, saying, “I am so sorry Clarke... My grandson usually has manners. It seems he must have lost them in the hall. Would you like to go retrieve them Bellamy Alexander Blake?”

Bellamy stopped himself from sighing… That would only make the situation worst. He just could not seem to catch a break today!! “No Ma’am.” He said a bit moodily, with a quick shake of the head.

“It’s okay Amelia.” Clarke, his beautiful saving grace, said as she walked over and sat down beside him while his grandmother sat on the other couch facing them. “It really is our own fault for putting his favorite food in front of him, and then not letting him eat it because were gabbing. Let’s say grace so he can dig in.” Bellamy sighed thankfully. God he L-… _Liked_ her.

Once grace was said, Bellamy did exactly what Clarke said he would… He dug in.

The food and wine were delicious, as conversation flowed over dinner and after. Clarke told Amelia how her family was coming in to town for her dad’s business meeting, but that’s all she said about her parents. Instead, she went on to explain how her brother was still looking for an apartment that he liked so he could move to the city soon, not having found one on his last visit. Bellamy loved seeing her so happy and excited when talking about her brother… He also loved that they had such a close relationship. Clarke and Bellamy both took turns explaining the guys crashing their zoo visit, and their wild crazy thoughts from Bellamy dying to wanting to play with the animals, no matter how dangerous.

Amelia laughed at the boys antics. They were just the funniest group to see put together the way they were, but they made it work like nothing she’d ever seen before. Amelia told them both how she was planning to have a party for the Fourth of July which was only about a week and a half away. She wanted all the boys along with Clarke and Bellamy there too. She had invited a couple of her older friends and neighbors. Bellamy didn’t think it would be a very good idea to bring the boys along. He worried they’d blow up the house with their homemade fireworks. Their response?

“It’ll be fine… It’ll be fine… You worry too much _Tesoro (Treasure)._ ” From his grandmother in a pacifying tone if he ever did hear one.

Clarke took his words a bit more seriously, but still just as blasé as his grandmother. She shrugged saying, “At least I’ll be there to provide medical attention…. Your grandmother’s right though. It’ll all be fine.”

Bellamy restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Both women began talking about the party, Clarke offering her help, and throwing out her thoughts when Amelia would ask her opinion. Nonni wanted it to be a smallish gathering starting in the afternoon and going until the late evening, so that was why she was only inviting 5 or 6 of her friends and neighbors, and the rest would be Bellamy, and his guys. She encouraged Clarke to bring anyone she wanted. Bellamy immediately tuned back into the conversation. It was something in the way she said it…

“Be sure to bring ANYONE you want _mio caro (my dear)_. I’m serious, whoever… Perhaps there is a nice young doctor friend you’d like to bring, hmm? Or maybe a wonderful neighbor?” Amelia said gazing at Bellamy with a glint in her eyes that had Bellamy’s outrageously full stomach twisting and rolling, threatening to eject the three plates of food he’d just wolfed down. While it may have seemed like a general invitation, Bellamy knew better… His grandmother’s words, and the way she’d said them, clearly indicated she was speaking about a man. Clarke was looking down in thought, presumably missing the double meaning of the words, and Bellamy’s reaction to them. His grandmother was telling Clarke, _his_ Clarke to bring some man to her party… Bellamy was about to lose. His. Shit.

Except, right as he opened his mouth, Clarke spoke, saying, “Actually, there is someone… Well, more like two someone’s, that I would like to bring along.”

He was going to be sick… Physically sick. He felt himself break out into a cold sweat. All he could think is that she had caught the double meaning. This wasn’t happening… She had met not just one, but two, men in the 16 or so hours a day she wasn’t with him? What the actual fuck…

Bellamy forced himself to look at the floor, and not get sick. Everything around him was hazy, and muffled… He almost missed out on Clarke’s next words.

“I have a neighbor, her name is Maya Vie, and she’s a single mom. Her daughter, Alison, is just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. Anyway, they don’t have any family or anyone, so would it be okay if they came?” She asked hopefully, albeit shyly. It was clear she didn’t like inviting other people over to someone else’s house.

“Of course _caro [darling]_! That is so thoughtful of you! Anyone else?” She asked prompting the other woman to name some more people. Amelia was eager to meet more of the people her darling Clarke interacted with.

“Umm… Just Emori and Katie if they can come. Emori is a doctor over at Mount Sinai, and Katie is a nurse. I doubt my brother will be able to stay in town for a whole week, but he could… I never know. My friend Raven and her husband Wick are celebrating back home with his parents, so they won’t be visiting.” Clarke said thoughtfully, as if recalling the conversation and the plans she was told.

“The more the merrier in my opinion, so be sure and bring anyone you would like. I’m so excited.” His grandmother gushed. “Now, you mentioned a Katie… You wouldn’t happen to mean a Katie Monroe would you? I haven’t seen her in a good few years…” His grandmother began, prompting both woman to begin discussing how she had met Katie, and how close they were. Bellamy wasn’t paying the slightest morsel of attention… He was too focused on the complete and utter relief coursing through his veins. He was sure that had he been standing, he’d have fallen to his knees with the force of the intensity of the sheer relief he was feeling. She hadn’t met anyone… She was thinking of her friend who had no one to spend the holiday with. He let go of a shaky breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding… It came out louder than he had intended, causing Clarke and his grandmother to look over at him in alarm.

“Hey, are you okay?” Clarke asked with concern, her eyebrows furrowed a little as she turned to him. “You don’t look so good… A little green.” She said bringing the back of her hand up to his forehead, feeling for a fever. She moved her warm hand down to his cheek, and Bellamy unconsciously leaned into her touch. He knew he wasn’t feverish, so the doctor side of her had nothing to worry about. Just having her close was already making him feel better… Her presence and touch alone had a healing effect on him, and he felt stronger.

“I’m okay…” Bellamy promised. “Just ate a little too fast.” He lied. He noticed his grandmother smirking at him over Clarke’s shoulder. She raised one eyebrow questioningly, as if to say, _Really? That’s your excuse?_ She knew he was lying, and he knew, she knew, he was lying. He was getting a headache, and it was all his grandmother’s fault. _Some birthday._ He thought sulkily.

Much to Bellamy’s immense relief, his grandmother choose that moment to stand, declaring it was getting late, and she had a long drive to get home. Bellamy stood, planning to walk her out, but she waved him off, telling him she would be fine. She told him to sit back down, ‘In case you get sick again… You know, from eating too fast.’ She was taunting him, and he let her, if it meant he would get her out of there faster. He watched as his grandmother hugged Clarke, promising to call her soon, before walking over to him. She hugged him, making sure to inform him of how much she looked forward to seeing him Thursday night for dinner, in a sweet voice that was almost too sweet. He knew she had something planned… An ace up her sleeve if you will. Who was he kidding? She had the whole damn deck of cards up her sleeve. He knew he wasn’t walking out of that dinner with his whole sanity intact, much less with all his functioning body parts.

Amelia walked to the door, slipping on her shoes and grabbing her bag, before taking one last quick look behind her at the couple still on the couch. They were sitting extremely close together, far too close to be ‘just friends’ as they both proclaimed. They didn’t seem uncomfortable or even aware they were sitting so closely that their sides were touching, from hip to knee. Bellamy had slumped forward a bit, resting one of his elbows on his knee, while his other arm was stretched across her lap, with his hand resting on Clarke’s knee furthest away from him. One of Clarke’s hands were resting on top of Bellamy’s that was lying on her knee, while the other one was carding through his hair. She was talking to him lowly, while he nodded every once and a while to whatever she was whispering to him.

Amelia quietly turned and left, closing the door with a soft click behind her. She took a step down the hallway, and stopped, leaning on the wall. She hated seeing her beloved grandson so upset, confused, and just… Lost. Poor thing… He truly had no idea what to do, or what he was feeling. She knew her grandson had been a couple of seconds away from a full out anxiety attack or tantrum when she suggested Clarke bring another ‘special’ friend to the party, but it had to be done. She needed to see what Bellamy’s reaction to the idea of Clarke being with someone else was, and she needed those feelings that he’d had in there to be relatively fresh in his mind for her next phase.

Phase One, which had been to set them up on a date, was a massive success. Phase Two, getting them to keep dating each other, not so much, but still a relative success… They were dating, even if they didn’t know it. Phase Three was a combination of getting them to officially start dating as well as admitting the enormous feelings they had for each other… This was going to be tricky, but she had a plan. While it was a painful one and a little forceful, with lots of hard facts being thrown at Bellamy, she knew her tough grandson could take it. If all went according to plan, Bellamy would have many inner truths come to light that would make him realize what everyone else could see in regards to Clarke Griffin… That he loved her. Amelia could see it plain as day, she just had to get him to admit it to himself, and then from there, he would know what to do. By Phase Six, or possibly even Phase Five if she could swing it, she planned to have a great-grandbaby on the way. Every phase was one step closer to getting her grandson that happily ever after his parents never had, that she was determined to show him he deserved, and Clarke Griffin was the everlasting key to said happily ever after.

Amelia pushed off the wall and began making her way down the stairs to her car outside, a second wind hitting her… Being only half way through this operation she had dubbed ‘B3’ or ‘B-cubed’, which stood for ‘Bouncing Baby Blake’, was exhausting. It was all her grandson’s fault really… He was so damn stubborn and clueless. She did not like being so pushy, honest to goodness she didn’t, but seeing how she had Bellamy’s best interest at heart, she figured it would be acceptable on this occasion. Phase Three went down Thursday night at dinner…

**_XxxX_ **

Back inside Clarke’s apartment, Bellamy was soaking up the attention Clarke was showering on him. The feel of her fingers threading gently through his hair was… Devine, was the word. He didn’t really like people messing with his hair, but like everything else, Clarke was the exception. He could easily fall asleep with her doing this…

“I’ll make you some tea, okay?” She said softly, and he nodded reluctantly. He had to bite his tongue to stop from complaining as she removed her hand from the back of his head to feel his forehead once more, before brushing one unruly stray lock away from his forehead. “You might need a haircut soon mister.” She said playfully, standing and grabbing the plates left over from dinner, before walking to the kitchen. He watched her intently as she put a tea kettle of hot water on the stove to boil, before rinsing the dishes in the sink off and loading them in the almost full dishwasher before stating it. She hummed a soft tune while she worked to clean the kitchen, putting away the leftover food and wiping down the counters. She finished making the tea, setting both mugs on a tray, before walking over to the oven, grabbing a pan out of the oven. Bellamy didn’t see what was on the metal sheet, but he had a suspicion. After a minute or so, she grabbed a plate beside the stove, and set it on the tray, before bringing it over and setting it on the coffee table. On the tray between the two mugs sat a plate of what looked like warm fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

She winked at him once before walking around the couch toward her bedroom area. He heard her open a drawer, and rustle around for a moment before closing it with a dull thump. Bellamy settled back into the couch, as she walked back into the living room area, and took her place beside him on the couch to his left.

“So…” She started off, almost nervously. “When we went shopping today, I found something that reminded me of you, and seeing as how it’s your birthday, I figured it would be the perfect thing to give you for a present.”

 “Really?” He asked hopefully. She had gotten him a present? The thought made his heart stutter in his chest.

“Yeah.” She nodded shyly. Bellamy was immediately excited. He didn’t get presents too often, and he usually really hated getting them, but the idea that Clarke was thinking of him today, and bought something for him, had him happy and eager to figure out what it was. “Close your eyes.” She prompted.

He did as she bid, and heard a soft clinking sound, before she said, “Open them.” He blinked his eyes open and there, dangling in front of him from one of her fingers was a necklace with a pendant on it. It wasn’t some girly little thing either… That would have been an automatic no, from the get-go.

Instead, Bellamy sat, staring, taking in the details of the necklace… The chain looked like a cable chain and it was a good 30 inch chain. The pendant was made from the same metal, and was oval shaped… About the size of a nickel. On the front was a carved out form of a man. Along the top of the pendant, the words ‘Saint Homobonus’ were engraved, and below the picture were, ‘Pray for us’. Bellamy reached out a touched the pendant, the metal was warm to his touch from being held in Clarke’s hands… It was lighter than he expected. He loved it… Truly, loved it. He wasn’t a jewelry guy… Like at all. He wore his watch, and that was it. No bracelets, rings, necklaces, none of that crap, but this is something he could picture himself wearing, for the sheer fact that she gave it to him.

“The pendant and the chain are made out of titanium, that’s why it’s so light.” Clarke said, watching as Bellamy took the necklace from her quickly tiring arm, and held it in his hand seemingly weighing it. She tried looking for any sign of his feelings on it. Just seeing a blank expression however caused her to start rambling in her nervousness. “I didn’t know if you already had a saint medal or not, but I decided to take a risk and give you one. I had it blessed by Father Peter this afternoon. The saint depicted, Saint Homobonus, is the patron saint of business men. Homobonus literally means ‘Good man’ in Latin, which is what I think you are. He’s also the patron saint of Cremona, Italy. Your grandmother told me how your mother’s Italian roots were from around there. Anyway, I figured, seeing as how the first time we met, someone was shooting at you, you could use it for protection.” She said, closing her eyes, trying to stop rambling. She opened her eyes again, and quickly started up again seeing Bellamy unchanged. “If you don’t like it, or you already have a saint medal, I can take it back…”

“No!” Bellamy all but shouted, moving the necklace away from her like she would snatch it from him. Clarke startled a bit, but grinned broadly when she heard him whisper, “I love it.”, while gazing down at the necklace in his palm. He flipped the pendant over to see in there was anything on the back. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something was engraved on it in tiny script.

  1. _Blake-_



_For a good man both in name and deed._

_You are so special to me._

_-Clarke_

Bellamy had a hard time swallowing. He was never taking this thing off now. “Thank you.” Bellamy said fervently looking over at her. He couldn’t help himself from reaching over and brushing an indulgent kiss to her soft warm cheek. His heart pounded in his chest as he pulled away, and noticed her reaction to his nearness. She blushed and look down, avoiding his eyes as she mumbled a meek, “You’re welcome.”

Bellamy quickly slipped the necklace over his head and tucked it underneath his T-shirt, where it settled right over his heart. It felt… Comforting. It being there reminding him that Clarke cared and wanted him safe.

“So…” Clarke said bringing Bellamy’s attention back to her. “I’ve got maybe five or so history documentaries lined up for us to watch, that is, if you haven’t already seen them.” She said with a teasing smile.

Bellamy’s heart beat harder in his chest. He worried briefly he was going to have a heart attack if it kept acting up like it had been every time Clarke did something thoughtful for him, or surprised him in some way, or smiled at him, or looked at him… Hell, even being in the same room with her had his heart beating erratically.

For the rest of the night they lounged on her couch watching various documentaries. He told her numerous facts about whatever they were watching… There really wasn’t anything that he didn’t know, and Clarke was in awe of him and his vast knowledge of history. He would have made a brilliant history teacher or professor if he hadn’t chosen to become a business man.

At the end of the night, when Clarke was sleeping soundly on Bellamy’s shoulder, he couldn’t help but think this was the best birthday he’d ever had in, well, forever, and it all had to do with Clarke… Her being there and spending the day he usually avoided or ignored at all costs, planning with his grandmother a way to make it an enjoyable day for him, meant more than he could say really. He was no longer paying any attention to the TV. No, his attention was solely focused on the most important thing in his world that was snuggled comfortably into his side, fast asleep.

Forcing himself to leave her was perhaps the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life… Harder than learning to live without his beloved mother after she died, harder than going through training with his father and uncle, harder than resisting Jasper and Monty’s puppy dog eyes. The list goes on. Somehow, by some inner strength he didn’t know he possessed, he was able to tuck her into bed, and leave after cleaning up a bit, although it felt like he was stabbing himself in the heart to do so… While he would admit that it had gradually become harder to leave her at the end of every night, ever since Saturday, it had been nowhere as hard as it was now.

With a click, the door closed, echoing loudly in Bellamy’s ears. He stood outside her door, looking down the hallway to the stairs. He felt his chest start to ache with the already short distance between him and his princess that he knew was only going to grow as he left to go home to his empty palace in the sky… It felt wrong in some way to leave her, and he didn’t know why. He knew he was acting stupid, but his couldn’t seem to help himself. He subconsciously started to rub the spot where he felt the ache the most, but froze when he felt the pendant through the thin fabric of his shirt. He relaxed before pulling it from underneath his shirt. He held it in his hand, before rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Feeling the inscription written there, from her, eased the ache building in his chest. The weight of it soothed him… He took a deep breath, and stood straighter before heading for the stairs that would take him down to the main floor and outside to the waiting car ready to take him to his apartment.

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy stood staring at the red door six feet in front of him. He did NOT want to be here. Electric chair… Radiation soaked forest… Firing squad… Cannibalistic humans… Someone trying to assassinate him (again)… Getting hit by a car… Being tortured… All things he’d much rather happen in place of him going through THAT door. He was fixing to walk through the gates of hell with no back up, no game plan, and no information to blackmail with. To put it simply… He was screwed.

Yesterday had been so great… Having lunch with Clarke, and then taking her to see the Empire State building that night after he got off work. She thankfully didn’t get called in, so their evening hadn’t been interrupted. By far, the best part of his night had been when they were standing on the top observation deck, and she was looking out over the light up city. Her face, so awed by the view, was just so exquisite. He couldn’t stop himself from discreetly taking several photos of her. He hardly noticed the view… Clarke was more stunning and captivating in all honesty.

Now here he was, about to have Thursday dinner with his grandmother, and he hadn’t even had his daily dose of Clarke. She had slept all day in preparation for having the night shift that evening, so he hadn’t been able to have lunch with her. He was a teeny bit disgusted with himself that he had become so needy and reliant on those daily midday meetings, but mostly, he was just grateful that he had them.

Bellamy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, shutting the image of the ominous red door out, and cleared his head. _This is your grandmother. Deep down somewhere inside, she loves you and she cares for you, she just had weird ways of showing it._ _She wants what’s best for you, even though she’s bat-shit crazy and has no real clue what’s really best for you._ His subconscious reasoned. _You’re a survivor… a fighter… a get out alive kind of person… you can do this. Think of Clarke._

And that’s exactly what he did… Clarke. His sweet beautiful Clarke. Bright baby blue eyes, golden blonde hair that shone like the sun, intoxicating lavender smell that he had come to associate with safety and comfort… Just soft and warm Clarke. His angel… His princess… He had to be strong, and make sure to get out of this so he could get back to her. _She’d have no one to cook for otherwise…_ He joked to himself, before the reality of the situation hit him full force, and seriousness overtook the small bit of humor. This was the very situation he had been running and ducking from for over a week now… He could no longer hide. He knew his grandmother was up to something… He just _knew_ she was going to do something or say something that would throw him for a loop or get him riled up, so he vowed to keep his guard up. He just had to be prepared for it is all, and not react to it. Not let her get to him or get the upper hand in any way. With his strengthened resolve and the knowledge that he’d just been standing outside, like an idiot, thinking for well over ten minutes, Bellamy cowboyed up and walked to the front door, ringing the doorbell twice.

He’d admit, he expected his grandmother to answer the door and bombard him with questions, so when Gertrude opened the door, Bellamy was a little confounded, but he locked that down real quick, and didn’t let his confusion show. It was nothing major… Actually, it was quite routine for Gertrude to answer the door. Routine was good… He could do routine. He went into the parlor and got his drink like he usually did, pouring less than he usually did, even though he wanted to pour more, he knew he needed to keep his wits about him.

His grandmother appeared a few minutes later, all smiles, hugs, and bubbly warmth, asking how the drive was, how work was, and how Clarke was… Not necessarily in that order. He was suspicious, but answered all was fine.

“Good.” She answered, without batting an eyelash. “Let’s go to the kitchen… I’ve got pork roast in the oven I’ve got to get out.” Once in the kitchen, his grandmother continued blabbering on about random little things… The Fourth of July party she had the next weekend, and all the people coming to that, her book club, some things she needed to get fixed around her house, etcetera. Bellamy paid attention to every word she said, looking for any angle she had or any underlying meanings she had. He could find none…. She asked how the guys were, and Bellamy found himself telling her how they were all doing okay. As they ate dinner, she kept talking and engaging him in the conversation, he found himself unconsciously relaxing… That was the biggest mistake of monumental proportions that he could have made, because it opened up a floodgate for everything that happened next.

“So, _bambino (child)_ , what do you think of Anson Taylor?” His grandmother asked leaning back in her chair, finished with her meal.

Bellamy wiped his mouth after taking a bite of food. He swallowed, and picked up his glass, “I don’t.” He said shrugging before taking a sip of water and continuing to eat. Anson Taylor was a tall, thin but muscular, redheaded man in his early thirties, with dark blue eyes. He was real jack-of-all-trades type. He and Bellamy sort of grew up together, but they weren’t close by any means… He was just a nice guy to have a passing conversation with at parties or church, wherever they ran into each other. Bellamy had no qualms with the guy… He was a real laid back dude, but his guys hated him. They always saw Anson as some type of threat. Like he would steal Bellamy’s friendship away from them all or something… Murphy tried to explain what the deal was one time, but he ended up getting so pissed about it, he punched a wall and had to be rushed to the hospital to get x-rays, stitches and a cast for his mangled hand. All of it was completely ridiculous of course, but that was his guys for you. Anson was constantly moving around, but he had a grandparent who was close to his grandmother, so Bellamy was often keep updated on whatever new adventure the vagabond had embarked upon, not that he cared in the slightest, and saw him every once and a while.

“He’s such a nice man. He just came back from building several schools down in South America, you know. He’s thinking of settling down in the area and finding work.” His grandmother said nonchalantly.

Bellamy didn’t notice her tone, too focused on eating. He nodded and hummed the appropriate ‘Mm-hmm’ when the conversation called for it. She kept going on though, practically reciting the man’s resume, complete with a list of achievements, every job he’s ever had, everywhere he’s lived, and all the charities he’s helped.

“Yes, Nonni… He’s an all-around stand-up guy.” Bellamy said a little annoyed. Why the hell was she talking about this guy?!

As if she could hear his thought question, she answered. “I was thinking of introducing him to Clarke at church this coming Sunday.” She said casually, focusing on her fingernails.

Bellamy choked on the sip of water he’d just taken. After he’d coughed up a lung it felt like, he asked lowly, hoarsely looking up at her from beneath his eyebrows, “What?” Hoping to God he’d heard her wrong, or had misinterpreted her meaning.

“Oh?” His grandmother said looking up from her fingernails at him. “Clarke… I said I was thinking of introducing her to Anson this Sunday at church. I feel they would hit it off so well don’t you think?” She asked innocently. Bellamy felt sick… This was her plan… He couldn’t let Anson get to know Clarke. _He. Just. Couldn’t._

“No.” Bellamy said firmly, shoving his plate away, no longer feeling hungry.

“Why ever not?” His grandmother asked, cocking her head to the side a little. “He’s got money. He’s got relationship experience. He’s seen the world. He’s ready to settle down… Have a wife, and maybe a couple of kids too. Besides, Clarke is his type… Pretty, sweet, blonde.” His grandmother listed off. Still just as calm as ever. “She’d make him a wonderful wife, and Bea would love to have her as a granddaughter-in-law.” Amelia said, thinking of her dear friend, Bea, who was Anson’s grandmother.

“I said no…” Bellamy growled. His unruffled exterior falling, and falling quickly. Warning bells and buzzers were going off in his head… He was letting her get to him, but he didn’t care. _HIS_ Clarke was _not_ being introduced to this… This… This vagrant!!!

His grandmother slowly leaned forward, and said one word like a taunt or a challenge… Triumphant and smug as fuck. “Why.”

Bellamy scrambled for the answer. “Because he’s too old for her.” He said randomly, grasping the first thing that he could think of.

“He’s 32. I don’t think that’s too old. We’ll have to see how Clarke feels about his age.” She said shrugging, and leaning back in her chair. “She might be into older men… You never know.”

“He’s not good enough for her.” Bellamy said, reaching blindly for an excuse… ANY excuse, even knowing the one he’d just blurted out was stupid… Anson was the perfect match. He could love her, take care of her, marry her, give her kids, and make her happy, and never worry about getting her killed for merely being associated with him like he would… Bellamy began to panic in earnest when he realized he couldn’t find a valid reason she shouldn’t meet him, or even be with him, only coming up with reasons in favor of an introduction.

“Now, Bellamy…” His grandmother said in an amused chastising tone, with a small grin she was trying and failing to hold back, “You know he’s perfectly fine for her… You said so yourself, and I quote ‘He’s an all-around stand-up guy.’” She paused. “I wonder if he’ll take her out to a Thai restaurant for their first date, maybe tell her about helping the children in South America learn to read and write? All women are suckers for a man who _cares._ ” She said with a glint in her eye that had Bellamy about doubled over with the pain of picturing the image… Them sitting across from each other at a restaurant, holding hands under the table, while she’s smiling at him with _that_ smile. The smile she had only for Bellamy on her face, but directed at _him_ …

“NOOO!!!” Bellamy roared, standing up so quickly the chair he’d just been sitting in was knocked over backwards. He planted both hands on the table, leaned over, breathing heavily in anger at the images passing through his head. Clarke and Anson walking through Central Park, holding hands, them cuddled on her couch together at night, him being the one to tuck her into bed, him being the person that she cooks for…

His grandmother leaned forward, her serene façade gone, with fire in her gaze she hissed, “Why? You’re just her friend you clueless monkey. Aren’t you? That’s what you’ve been telling me from the beginning. That’s the story right?” His grandmother stood too, but more gracefully, so her chair just scooted loudly backwards across the hard wood floors. She matched his stance, leaning on the table, a mirror to him. “Listen to me _nipote (grandson)_ being her _friend_ ,” She spat the word like it was the most vulgar thing she’d ever heard or said. “Means you get to sit back and watch her get into other relationships, be overwhelmingly happy for a while, and then get her heart broken by some _stronzo (asshole)._ Rinse. Repeat.”

The room was starting to tilt and sway. If he hadn’t been holding onto the table, Bellamy was sure he’d have been a heap on the floor, but his grandmother continued, not pulling punches, “Then one day, something will change.” She said with a deadly calm voice… Almost a whisper. “She’ll meet someone who makes her feel alive. Someone who gives her butterflies in her stomach when they are in the same room, or even at the mention of their name. She’ll feel sparks when they touch, and he’ll inadvertently changes her whole world to where it revolves around him. She’ll want you to meet him, and she’ll want you to _like_ him, because you’re her _friend_.” She emphasized watching her grandsons face grow redder and redder. Bellamy was thinking how all those things she was listing, the sparks, world being flipped around, and the jumpy stomach, were things he felt with Clarke, and the mere thought that she would feel those things with someone else that wasn’t _him?_ Bloodthirsty, ferocious, and downright homicidal, were all potent feelings rushing through his body.

“You’ll be at her wedding,” Amelia continued, on a roll. “Then she’ll tell you the wonderful news that she’s going to be a mom… That she’s carrying. Another. Man’s. Child. Then you’ll be at the hospital when that baby is born, and you’ll see the look of joy on her and that man’s face at becoming parents…”

“Stop!!” Bellamy pleaded. “Just stop!” He cried hanging his head, too exhausted to hold it up any longer… It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Each picture flashing by in Bellamy’s head, felt like a slap to the face and a punch to the gut… He would always be on the sidelines, watching, yearning, regretful, unrequited… An outsider looking in at the life he could have had…

“WHY?!” his grandmother yelled. “Tell me why I should stop telling you the truth… Why I should stop telling you what’s going to happen… You’re getting something no one person has ever had!” She said loudly, tearing him apart from the inside out… Completely gutting him with her vicious words. “You’re getting a glimpse into your future.” She whispered in a haunted voice that echoed through the quiet room past his harsh breathing … He fought it, but felt himself starting to truly believe her. She sounded so much like an oracle, it was hard not to believe everything she was telling him.

“No…” Bellamy whispered closing his eyes tightly. NOTHING could have prepared him for this… His grandmother, 110% had the upper hand.

“Just tell me why _il moroso (sweetheart)…_ ” she said gently, honing in on her grandsons weakened and doubtful state. “It’s okay… I promise.” She coaxed out of him, knowing she had gotten past the thick walls surrounding his head and heart.

He lifted his head, tears shining in his eyes, “I love her.” He croaked, confessing what he had known for a while, but was in denial about up ‘til that point. Speaking the words were a relief, and once they were out, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from continuing. “I love her so much that it hurts to think of her with someone else. I don’t want to ever be away from her, and when I am, I’m constantly thinking about her and counting the minutes and second until I’m with her again. An army couldn’t keep down the desire I have for her… To hold her, make her laugh or smile, to just _be_ _with_ her. If something ever happened to her I’d go crazy… I’d go legitimately, criminally, medically, and any other kind of crazy. If she ever met someone else and loved him, I wouldn’t hurt him or kill him, because of the sheer fact that she loves him, and I’d never hurt her like that or be the cause of her pain… I do know I’d fight like hell to win her heart from him, and get her to love me back though.” He said firmly, like that was the end of it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. His voice had grown more and more firm as he spoke. “I’m warning you once and for all, if you threaten, or dare, to introduce her to Anson, or anyone else for that matter, one. More. Time. No one will ever see or hear from him again because he’ll be swimming at the bottom of the ocean with the sharks, weighed down by the sheer amount of bullets I put in his body.” He said snarling so fiercely, so murderously, so _dangerously_ , Amelia could see for the first time, what her grandson was like when he was the Rebel. She stood up slowly and nodded solemnly. The man meant what he said… She respected that. Besides, she had no reason now, to introduce, or threaten to introduce, anyone to her beloved Clarke. Her grandson would handle business now that he wasn’t hedging around the topic of his feelings anymore.

Bellamy watched as his grandmother nodded her surrender. He was an idiot, and he knew it. _Don’t lose your cool Bellamy, don’t let her get the upper hand Bellamy, don’t let your guard down Bellamy… What bullshit!_ He thought bitterly, berating himself for falling right into her carefully laid trap… He had other, bigger, much scarier problems at the moment though, such as that fact that he LOVES Clarke…

 _HEY, dumbass!!!_ His subconscious was yelling at him. _Mayday! Mayday!! May-damn-day!!! We’ve hit feels iceberg in here, were taking on feelings faster than we can process them, and were sinking like the damn Lusitania. Our damn cold heart is melting like the damn Wicked Witch of the West, and there is no damn ‘how to’ manual for any of these things… A little DAMN help?!_ His subconscious screamed at him.

He needed to be alone and sort his shit out… Panicking now was not wise. No, he needed to be alone while he freaked the hell out. His grandmother was watching him cautiously, like she knew he was on the verge of breaking down… Like she was expecting it. So Bellamy did what he had to do… He turned and left without a word. Bolted more like it, but he’d like to think he had still has some balls, so he told himself that he _walked brusquely_ out the door when in reality, he shot out of that house like his ass was on fire and the devil was licking at his heels. He was in the car, telling Jones to head to his penthouse, before he even fully realized it.

He was so caught up in his inner turmoil, he didn’t even notice the 45-minute drive pass by before Jones was pulling up in front of his apartment building. Bellamy rushed out, slamming the car door behind him before walking into the building lobby, past a glaring Brittany/Tiffany… Whatever the hell her name was, and into the waiting elevator. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands, frustrated and agitated. He could feel the feelings rising up and threatening to choke the life out of him with their intensity.

As soon as he was in his apartment, Bellamy immediately began tugging off his clothes feeling like they were suffocating him. It was so damn hot!! He felt like he was burning up from the inside out. His tie was the first to go… It felt like a noose around his neck. The restrictive suit jacket was next, feeling like a straitjacket. He ripped his white button-down off, buttons flying everywhere, and dropped it to the floor. He walked to his bedroom, reaching up behind his head to the collar of his T-Shirt and pulling it over his head in one fell swoop, dropping it to the floor. He toed off his shoes as he went, and started to remove his belt… God, the whole room felt stifling, even though he knew it was all in his head. Sweat started to bead on his forehead… It was getting harder to breathe… He loved her. He _loved_ her. He freaking loved her!!!

Bellamy immediately went for his balcony, hoping the fresh air would ward off the major panic attack he felt coming on. He stumbled to the door, and threw it open, barley making it to the chair outside before collapsing into it. He hunched over with his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands… What was he going to do? He LOVED her. Why… Why oh why had he gotten himself into this mess? When did this even happen? HOW did it even happen? He had safeguards and walls set up specifically for this… To prevent this very type of thing from happening.

He sat, thinking, and thinking hard, over every interaction he’d had with her since meeting her… When had things really changed? When had he fallen in love with her… And then the very moment came to him. Clear as day, he remembered the day at the zoo not so long ago, when she had been so upset believing him to be dying, and he’d had that strange feeling well up inside of him… It had been love. He hadn’t recognized it for what it was, simply because he’d never experienced it before. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his grandmother, craziness and all, but that was a love of a grandson for his grandmother. He loved his dad, in spite of all the problems they had, but that was a love of a son for his father. He loved his uncle, although they weren’t uncle and nephew by blood, the man still raised him. He loved his guys, in a brotherly way, and that as it. He had never loved anyone else but his mother and Bisnonna Aggy, and they were both long since dead. No, the type of love he felt for Clarke, the all-consuming, fiery passionate love he felt for her, he’d never before experienced or felt, and he’d never really thought he wanted it or deserved it. Not with the type of life he led, but here he was, drowning in the uncertainty of having a first love. He felt like a damn teenager, not the 27… 28 year old he now was.

Bellamy knew the best thing he could do for her, now that these feelings had come to light for him, would be to withdraw. Ignore her phone calls and texts, no longer go out or go to dinner over at her place, never show up at church again (He was actually pretty okay with this one), never step foot in Mount Sinai hospital ever again, even if it was the last option in a life and death situation. Basically, over all, never see her again. But as he thought of it, the dull ache in his chest from already not being with her, started to grow into a sharper more acute pain that had him unconsciously reaching up to rub his chest in the hopes to dispel it, but he came in contact with his saint pendant… He held it between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it absentmindedly, feeling the words on the pad of his thumb. _You are so special to me._ Her words echoed through his heart, and he knew he couldn’t leave her… Not only would it hurt her, but he’d go insane without her. So he scrapped that plan and moved on to the next option… Friends.

They could continue of being just friends, but his grandmother’s words kept playing through his head on repeat, along with all the horrible images his mind had conjured up in response to her words. Could he sit back, and watch her love another man? Kiss him, hold him, and be happy with him? Could he watch her get married to another man, and bare his children? The answer was a resounding no.

No, he couldn’t watch her love another man, because he wanted to be the man she loved… The man she kissed, the man she held close at night, the man who made her laugh and smile. When he pictured her in a white dress radiant and overjoyed at getting married, she was walking down the aisle _toward_ him, not _past_ him to another man _._ This revelation brought along acceptance…. Acceptance that being just her friend would never be enough. Ever.

That left the last, most dangerous, and most terrifying option… He was going to have to put his heart on the line, and _be_ with her. No holds, no barred, be with her. He would have to tell her about his mob life, and pray to all the saints that she would accept him, and love him, despite what he did for a living. He’d have to tell her all about the dangers of being with him… The constant threats to her safety, and the need he’ll have for her to have constant protection when she wasn’t with him. He winced thinking about how he’d also have to tell her about Sterling watching her… But that could wait ‘til she was in a really good mood.

He’d have to confess that he didn’t correct her on the important fact that he owned his own company. He’d also have to tell her about always being watched by others and stalked by paparazzi, merely for being his important significant other, and how being with him involved little to no privacy unless they were sneaking around. Then, the scariest part would come when he had to tell her that he loved her… That was way off, of course. He was pretty sure telling someone you love them in a romantic sense after only knowing them for a few weeks, was a big no-no. Then again, you weren’t supposed to love someone after just a few weeks of knowing them, now were you? Bellamy always thought it took months before people felt love in their relationships… God he had no clue what he was doing. He was grateful Clarke was a patient person, because she was going to need every last ounce of that patience with him.

 _Dude… Your ass is in the friend zone. You don’t even know if she’s into you, or that she’ll date you. Are we even going with this option? Cool your jets, and don’t get ahead of yourself._ His subconscious reprimanded and chided him. Damn, the little annoying voice was right for once. While he had made up his mind in regards to pursuing her, knowing the other two options weren’t even viable options anymore now that he knew he loved her, he didn’t know how Clarke felt about him… It sounded so freaking cliché and high school, but what if she didn’t like him like that, and really only saw him as just a friend?

Bellamy sat and pondered the mind mangling question. What to do… What to do… Then, like a light bulb went off, the answer hit him. It was actually quite simple on the surface too… He needed a plan to get himself out of the friend zone, and in the game. It was going to need to be a damn good plan at that.

Bellamy stood, and began pacing his balcony. He had to first feel her out a bit… So that meant turning up the flirting, and seeing how she took that. Then, if that was going well, try more innocent touches… Holding her hand more, hand on her waist when he reaches around her for something, stuff like that… He saw that on a couple of those cheesy romance movies Clarke had talked him into watching. Who knew they’d actually come in handy? Then, if she’s receptive to all of that, bite the bullet and ask her out on a real date. From there, everything would be practically effortless, right? How hard could it be being in a relationship? Answer, not THAT hard. Yeah… He could do this.

Bellamy moved over the glass railing of his balcony and looked out over the city he practically owned. He was… Elated was the word. He was excited to be able to move forward with Clarke, and be with her, but he was nervous too, that she would reject him. He didn’t want to be hurt, but there really was no way around not putting himself out there in this situation. As Bellamy stood there and basked in the peaceful happy feeling humming through his body, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pants pocket. He quickly pulled his phone out, seeing Jake calling.

“Hey old man.” He said, answering the phone with a smile on his face.

“Hey kid.” Jake said, sounding a lot better than he had the last couple of times they talked. “I was calling to tell you thanks again for the plane. We’re all getting packed now, and we’ll be in late tomorrow night.”

“Good.” Bellamy said happily.

“Uh… Are you okay kid? You on something?” Jake asked confused by the other man’s chipper tone and demeanor. “Oh God, your sick aren’t you?”

“Nope.” Bellamy said popping the p at the end. He really didn’t understand what was with everyone thinking he was sick, when he was really just happy. Seriously, it’s like they’d never seen him crack and smile or something, which was bull.

“Uh-huh. I totally believe you.” Jake deadpanned. “Seriously kid, did something happen?”

“Yup.” He said grinning wider, popping the p again.

“You gonna tell me ‘bout it?” Jake asked amused.

Even though no one was around, Bellamy still ducked his head shyly. “I’ll tell you when I see you Saturday. It’s a good thing though…” He mumbled, with a smile heard in his voice.

“Uh-oh…” Jake said shaking his head in disbelief, leaning forward in his office chair, and covering his mouth, desperately trying not to bust out laughing or jump up fist pumping the air.

“What?” Bellamy asked with a frown. “What’s with the uh-oh? I just said it was good news.”

“Holy shit…” Jake whispered, stunned.

“What?” Bellamy grumbled irritably.

“You are sick.” Jake said almost accusingly. “Just not with some virus though… You done gone and caught the love bug kid. Well, I’ll be damned. Your girl’s got you hooked huh.” He said chuckling.

“How did you know?” Bellamy asked shocked. “I mean damn… I only just figured it out a couple hours ago.” It seemed like everyone else knew, before he, himself, even knew, and he was the one with the damn feelings!! God, he sounded like such a loser… He had _feelings._

“I know you too well kid… I can hear it in your voice. Bet I could read it all over your face too, if I were there to see that ugly mug.” The older man joked.

“Hey… This ugly mug got me a damn fine woman, now didn’t it?” Bellamy joked right back.

“Yeah, yeah kid… She’s the real beauty to your beast.” Jake said chuckling at his own joke. “You guys official yet?” He asked, hopefully.

“No, not yet.” Bellamy mumbled, looking up at the dark night sky. “I’m working on it though.” He promised.

“Don’t wait too long kid. Lock her down so she don’t get away from you. From what you’ve told me, she’s a real keeper. You know I’m gonna have to meet the little lady right? The sooner the better, so that means this weekend. You could give me a name…” Jake said hintingly.

“I’ll see what I can do about meeting her… She’s got family coming into town this weekend too. I’m actually hoping to steal her away from her mom. That woman is a real piece of work… I hope I never meet her. She’s so critical and controlling of Clarke.” Bellamy said without thought. He didn’t even notice his slip up until he heard Jake’s breath hitch on the other end of the phone.

“Clarke?” Jake said a little hoarsely. Bellamy didn’t notice the other man’s tone of voice, to busy mentally scolding himself for his slip up.

“Damn…” Bellamy muttered, before sighing. Cat’s out of the bag now. No use in being secretive about it. “Yeah… Her name is Clarke.” He said smiling again at the mention of her name.

“Is that her first name or middle name? What does she look like?” Jake demanded.

“Uh… It’s her first name. She’s short, blonde hair, blue eyes.” Bellamy said confused at the other man’s abrupt change in demeanor.

“What’s her…” Jake started before he was cut off by a feminine voice calling his name in the back ground and saying something about time being up… That must be either Charlotte or Abby. It sounded older though, so probably Abby. “Damn it!” He growled. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be calling you later.” He promised, almost threateningly, before abruptly hanging up. Bellamy pulled the phone back and looked at it confused. _That was weird_. Bellamy thought, before shrugging it off. He was probably just stressed with everything going on.

Bellamy went back to observing the city. If he looked close enough, he could just barely see the top of Clarke’s apartment building across Central Park. Even though she wasn’t home, he continued staring, just thinking. He knew he was going to have to woo her… Romance her, even though he had no real clue how to do that. He’d never had to be romantic or woo anybody before, but for Clarke, he was willing to try. He would do anything for her… To have her. It was definitely going to be an interesting thing to watch, for sure.

With those last thoughts, he turned and went inside to get some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my major question... Did anyone see that coming? Did anyone guess that Bellamy was going to have that revelation or that it was going to be that huge? What did you think of Bellamy getting jealous of his grandmother? And HOW could he forget his own birthday?! Was anyone laughing at this grown ass man fearful of two little women, because let me tell you... ANY man who has the insightfulness to know when and how he's screwed up with the women in his life, and the wisdom to know to be scared while also knowing what to do to get back in their good graces, is a GOOD man. Seriously, he'll go far in life... My brother has yet to learn any of this, and he's suffering a bit with a mother and two older sisters, poor kid. Lol.
> 
> Now, where was I, oh yes! What did you think of Bellamy's minor freak out thinking Clarke had met two guys? Most importantly, what were your thoughts on the dinner with Nonni, and her plan (Operation B3)? I told you all she was a bit of an evil genius... Can't deny the woman's got style though. Jake... What to say about Jake... He knows, but he doesn't know-know, you know? Now Bellamy's the one with the plan... We'll have to see where it goes now...
> 
> As I've already told some of you, before we get to the meeting, three major things have to happen. Two of those things happened in this chapter... Can any one identify them? The other major thing will happen next chapter, and it'll need the whole chapter to be explored. The only hint/spoiler I'll give you is... The title of the story will be used. I wonder how O_o...
> 
> So this is a little sad bit of news... I got my first really unpleasant review last week on FF.net. I should say reviewer actually, my first unpleasant review-er, because I actually got numerous reviews that were discouraging from this person (A whopping 5!). I don't fault them for giving me their opinion, A) because its everyone's right to be able to do so (Not that you necessarily should sometimes :/ Whats that saying? Nothing nice to say, don't say it at all? Yeah, that still applies as adults people.) and B) I encourage people to give me their opinions and thoughts always. I want to know if there is a way I can make the story better for you. Its HOW this person told me their thoughts, which was extremely rude and a little disparaging. You all know I love hearing from you, and I make it a point to respond to each of your reviews if I can. The reason I'm telling you all this, is to share the lesson I learned from the whole ordeal. If there are any writers out there who quit writing because someone discouraged you, or put your work down and labeled it unsatisfactory in their eyes, DON'T listen to them... Never let anyone deem something you worked hard on as a waste, because your opinion and your opinion alone, is what truly matters. Haters are gonna hate... Taylor Swift was sure to drill it in our heads with that catchy song of hers, 'Shake it off'. Besides, people who criticize you and put you down are just intimidated and jealous by your success.
> 
> I know without a doubt if I had gotten these reviews months ago, when I first started posting, I would have stopped posting, and just kept writing privately for me, but I have all you amazing people out there, counting on me to pull you out of reality for an hour or so (how ever long it takes you to read my monster chapters), and I never let the people loyal to me down, and all of you are counted there.
> 
> So if any of you are still reading this long ass authors note, I love you, thank you, and I'll see you next week for the chapter that will blow your mind...  
> -Redhead17x  
> PS I've decided to incorporate the mix CD and it's songs later on, so I'll be posting the songs then for you all.


	16. So Much Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy my peoples... Having a lovely week I hope. So the last major thing before the meeting is happening in this chapter... Now if you finish reading this and can't find it or point it out, well I can't help you, you're blind. Might wanna get someone to drive you and go get that checked... Just sayin'. Don't drive blind.
> 
> Any who... The only warning I'm giving is that this chapter contains a feels overload for you the reader. Speaking of the feels... Soak 'em up in this chapter, because they won't be around next chapter. Seriously though, enjoy this, because from here on out I'm gonna break your heart- repeatedly- before I put it back together just when you think all hope is lost. Don't you just love me?
> 
> So a little reminder here... They have known each other for almost a month, and have pretty much been dating for that long. While I don't think things progressed too quickly, I am worried you readers will think so (No smut here, promise.). Seriously, it was either this, or I dragged this out over 2 or 3 chapters before we got to this point, and the meeting was prolonged even longer. I think you'll like this option better...
> 
> So lets go and read how Bellamy fortunately screws up his own plan! Have fun my darlings, and don't skim, for my skimmers... You will miss stuff...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 16- So Much Time**

Bellamy had promised Clarke that they would spend Friday evening together, seeing as how they would hardly, if at all, see each other over the weekend, even though Bellamy hoped to steal her away if he could. Bellamy knew it was going to be a rough weekend for them both… Clarke having to deal with her mom, and Bellamy having to deal without Clarke. He had gotten incredibly used to them both spending every weekend together, continuing Clarke’s sightseeing of the city. He’d also gotten used to seeing her every day, with a select few miserable exceptions like Thursday, and the thought of not seeing her for two, possibly three days, was absurd! He wouldn’t last, and he knew it… He’d be showing up on her door step by the end of the first day, family be damned. With the way she had been so upset about not seeing him for the whole weekend last Sunday when she got the news of her family’s visit, Bellamy would have liked to think she felt the same way as him about everything, and was going to miss him as well.

The day after his great ‘I love you’ revelation found Bellamy standing at Clarke’s door knocking. The whole day at work he and Jake kept missing each other’s call. It was vicious game of phone tag that couldn’t seem to end. Bellamy was in meetings none stop from the time he’d gotten into work, in order to be able to leave early, and every time he tried calling Jake back during the spare ten minutes or so he had between meetings, he always got the older man’s voicemail. Bellamy finally just gave up, not seeing what was so important that he keep calling… After all, Jake would be there that night, and he’d see the older man the next day.

Bellamy left work early like he planned, and went home to change into his casual ‘street’ clothes. Basically just a pair of blue jeans and a gray V-neck short sleeve T-Shirt, with a brown belt and brown Dockers shoes. Bellamy had plans for them to go explore Rockefeller Center for the rest of the afternoon and evening, and he knew they’d need all the time they could get to look around.

Clarke answered the door with an infectious radiant smile that had Bellamy falling just a little more in love with her… And that was before he saw what she was wearing. She had on a pair of blue jeans that Bellamy could’ve sworn were painted on, a black tank top with thin straps, and brown sandals. She was going to get someone killed going out in public like that… He vowed to shoot the first person who looked at her ass in those jeans. Okay, so it would actually be the second person and every person after, seeing as how he was going to be the first to check out her butt. He knew it was crazy, but with her, he was a possessive bastard, something he’d never felt or had to deal with before. His grandmother taunting him about introducing Clarke to Anson was still fresh in his mind, and he didn’t want anyone sneaking in and screwing up his plans to get Clarke to be his, officially that is. In his mind, she was already his, and he was already hers, but until he and Clarke were official… Every breathing male was a viable threat to his plans to get her.

“Hey you…” She said waving him inside quickly. “I’ve just got to grab a few things, and then we’re ready to go. Do you think we can walk? I’d love to get some fresh air.” She said flittering around her apartment while talking to him. Bellamy’s eyes didn’t leave her for a second. He was so screwed… He felt like everything had changed and nothing had changed at all, all at once. He was different… His goals, motives, and feelings in regards to her had all changed. His whole world now revolved around her… Hell, she was his world and while that was frightening, it felt so… Right. On the other hand, while he had changed, Clarke hadn’t. She still thought of them as just friends… Something he now hated immensely. He had to be patient though… Rushing into things would scare her, and he needed for her to not be scared of where things were headed for them, which in Bellamy’s mind was forever.

Suddenly a hand waving in front of him brought him back to the present with his thoughts. “Hey, are you feeling okay?” She asked his with concern shining in her beautiful blue eyes.

“Uh yeah… Just kind of zoned out there for a minute.” He said sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes affectionately at him. “So can we? Walk I mean.” She asked hopefully.

The weather forecast had predicated rain that day, but not one drop had fallen all day, so Bellamy figured it would be fine. “Yeah Princess… Anything for you.” She grinned brightly at him. Bellamy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and quickly pulled it out seeing Jake was calling… Again. Bellamy looked up at Clarke as she rushed over to her bed and grabbing her brown purse and a gray cardigan. She slipped the loose flowy cardigan on, and Bellamy felt equal parts relieved and disappointed that she covered her shoulders. He felt like he was going crazy with all these mixed, contradicting feelings swirling around inside his head. He quickly hit the power button, silencing the call, focusing on Clarke again as she turned off all the lights in the apartment but the light above the stove before flouncing over to him, exclaiming, “Ready! Hey, look, we match sort of…”

He grinned at her passing observation. Before he could say anything though, her phone rang. She quickly retrieved it from her bag and looked at the screen. “It’s um my dad.” She said confused before hitting a button silencing the call, and looking up at him. “I have no idea why he’s been calling me all day. I mean I’m not answering the phone when I’m dead asleep after working all night just to chat with him when he’s going to be here tomorrow.” She sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes. Her phone started ringing again, and Bellamy caught a flash of her mother’s contact. “Oh no way…” She muttered looking at the screen before hitting another button to silence the call faster than she did with her father’s call. She looked up at him. “He’s got to be crazy thinking I’d pick up the phone seeing that she’s calling! Ugh… Ridiculousness.” She muttered to herself grabbing her keys and Bellamy’s hand leading him out of the apartment.

Bellamy watched as she paused to lock the door behind them. Suddenly, he heard feet coming up the stairs, but Bellamy ignored them, focusing on Clarke and her cute little huffing and puffing that she was doing. It was official… He was a sappy idiot. After the deadbolt was locked, she turned and smiled at him, before looping her arm through his as they began walking down the hallway toward the stairs. The noise on the stairwell drew nearer, until suddenly a little girl, no more than four or so appeared, big brown curls and green eyes. She was wearing an all pink ballerina outfit with a little crown on her small head, and some kind of wand. She squealed in delight upon seeing Clarke, and started running towards them. Maya appeared on the stairwell behind her.

“Alison Maria Vie stop running!” Maya said in a cross motherly tone upon seeing her daughter rushing towards them, but it didn’t stop her daughter from running the last few step to latch onto Clarke’s legs in a hug. Clarke stumbled a little with the force of the hit and quickly let go of Bellamy in an attempt not to fall over, but Bellamy was there to steady her… And if he just happened to not remove his hands from her waist and hip after she was steady on her feet again, well, it was a part of the plan.

“Clarky, Clarky, looks at what I have!” The little girl, Alison, said with all the energy and enthusiasm of an average four-year-old, which looked like a whole freaking lot, ignoring her mother’s reprimand for running. Instead, she let go of Clarke’s legs, and held up the wand in her hand for Clarke’s inspection. She even gave a cute little wave of the wand for demonstration. Clarke laughed and squatted down to the child’s height forcing Bellamy to release her.

“I see Ali. Let me guess…” She said pretending to think. She brought her index finger up and tapped her chin a couple of times in contemplation. “You are a fairy princess ballerina!” The little girl gasped.

“How did you know Clarky?” She asked with wide eyes and a stunned expression. The kid was cute as hell.

“Because you’re my Ali-cat…” Clarke said with a smile making the small child giggle hearing the nickname Clarke had for her. “You’re the best ballerina, nicest fairy, and sweetest princess around!” She said, making the child blush and duck her head with the compliments. She scuffled her feet a bit, before saying a sweet, “Tank you.” Which Bellamy took as her trying to say thank you. She quickly hugged Clarke again, and only then seemed to take notice of Bellamy. Her eyes got really big once again looking up at the tall scary looking man standing next to Clarke, and she took a quick step back… It was obvious she was frightened, but she was curious too.

“Is this your prince, Clarky?” The sweet child asked her innocent question in a small voice, her green eyes flicking back to look at Clarke before racing back to Bellamy as he shift on his feet to get a good look at Clarke’s face. Bellamy was very interested in hearing her answer.

Clarke shook her head, with a rueful little smile. “No, you know what I think of princes’ right?” She asked the little girl with raised eyebrow, who nodded seriously. “Well, this is my dark knight, Sir Bellamy.” Clarke said with a secretive smile, sending a wink at the small child. If it was even possible, the child’s eyes widened further, and she let out a little squeal of, what Bellamy believed to be, happiness while clapping her small hands in delight.

Bellamy was confused. What did Clarke think of princes? Because he was ready to be whatever the hell she wanted him to be, and if she wanted a prince, he’d become damn Prince Charming. And her calling him a knight? Was that a confirmation he was firmly rooted in the friend zone? Wasn’t the knight always the friend in the stories? Damn… It was worse than he’d originally thought. And what had she meant by him being a _dark_ knight? Did she know of his depravity? No, she couldn’t… Not yet anyway. Bellamy had firmly thought this part out, and come to the conclusion that she’d only find out about that dark part of himself when there wasn’t a reasonable doubt in his mind that she loved him just as much as he loved her already… Even though he couldn’t really fathom how she was going to catch up with him when his love for her seemed to grow every time he took a breath, but that was of no consequence. It was all in the plan… The fail proof, flawless plan that was apparently going to take for-freaking-ever to get to the good stuff, but would give him his Clarke in the end, so he couldn’t really complain. After all, the best things in life you had to work for and fight for, and, well, Clarke wasn’t the exception here.

The little girl no longer looked scared of him… No, she looked positively overjoyed to see him standing there now. She scrambled over to him and raised her hands in a silent command to pick her up. He looked up to Maya for permission. The woman in question, who was standing a few steps away, look at him in in amazement almost, and nodded quickly. He bent down and lifted the light child into his arms. Clarke stood from her crouched position as well. The little girl turned a bit and handed Clarke her wand before turning back to Bellamy, and grabbing his face firmly in her tiny little hands… She looked intently into his eyes, squinting a little. It felt like minute or hours that she watched him, but Bellamy was sure it was only seconds. Her little face was so serious for a child of her age. He didn’t know what she looking for, but she seemed happy with what she found. Suddenly she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, whispering, “You’re good. You’re good.” Bellamy hugged her back, and looked up to see tears silently rolling down Maya’s cheeks. Bellamy wondered what that was about… Clarke saw the tears, and quickly went over to console Maya, handing her a tissue she produced out of her bag and murmuring words too low for Bellamy to hear.

The child pulled out of the hug and began talking a mile a minute to him about coming to play pretty pink princess tea party with her and Clarke (Try saying that one five times fast, Bellamy couldn’t say it once.), and coming to the park with her and Clarke, and coming to eat the ‘fantabulous’ mac and cheese Clarke made her and her mommy. Jeez… Bellamy was tempted to look for an off switch on the little chatterbox, but he enjoyed hearing everything she did with Clarke, all of which he now seemed to have an open invitation to crash. He could work with that. After a few more minutes of endless jabbering, Maya and Clarke walked back over, and Alison immediately went to her mother.

“Mommy, I made a new friend. His name is Bellamy, and he’d Clarke’s dark night!!” She squealed at a pitch, Bellamy was sure could shatter glass. He normally found kids to be ridiculously annoying, but this one was so… Exuberant, and happy, he couldn’t help but like her. “Isn’t that just so wonderful? Oh, but it IS just. So. Wonderful.” Alison said with a serious little face holding her mother’s face like she had done Bellamy’s moments before. She seemed to be waiting impatiently for her mom to say something, like if her mother didn’t declare it the absolute most wonderful thing ever, Alison was going to freak out in shock at it not being so. Bellamy would have liked to know why it was so freaking wonderful he was Clarke’s dark knight… It didn’t really seem to be the best thing from his stand point. It just meant he had more work to do in regards to his plan.

“Yes, it’s great darling.” Maya said in a placating voice, trying to get her kid to stop her silliness.

“Oh mommy.” Alison said with utter exasperation before flopping her head on the woman’s shoulder and snuggling in to her neck watching Bellamy and Clarke. Clarke tucked her wand back into the little girls grasp with another wink.

“I’m sorry for the water works.” Maya said to Bellamy. “I just… She doesn’t like men. Like, at all. I was just surprised she hugged you, or even wanted you to hold her, let alone actually hold her. Thank you.” She said gratefully, before quickly rushing off, not even giving Bellamy a chance to respond.

“Come on you…” Clarke said scooping her bag off the floor where it rested. “Rockefeller Center waits for no man.” She said playfully, looping her arm through his once again. Once they were out of her building and walking down the street towards Rockefeller Center, they began talking about anything and everything over the 35 minute walk.

Bellamy told her how work was both that day, and the day before, and how dinner with his grandmother went. He of course left out the events leading up to the major revelation that he’d had, the major revelation itself, and then storming out of his grandmother’s house after the subsequent revelation, but other than that, he told her everything else. She then told him how her shift was, and how she had discharged baby Griffin and his mom that morning before she had gotten off shift, each with clean bills of health.

“So, I found an interesting word origin, and thought you’d appreciate the history behind it. Want to hear what it is?” She asked looking up at him as they walked.

“You know it…” Bellamy said with a grin.

“Okay, sometime in the 1800’s I think, people in England began to dig up old graves to repurpose them for new ones, because there was nowhere else to bury the bodies of the newly deceased... Well, when they opened these old coffins, they found scratch marks on the lids of some of the coffins and realized they had literally been burying people alive. In an effort to save the 1 in 25 people still alive when buried, they tied a string to the wrist of the body that led up through the ground and connected to a bell. They had one of the townsfolk or villagers sit in the graveyard all night, waiting for a bell to ring… Hence the graveyard shift.” She said with a smile looking up at him.

“It was the 1500’s actually.” Bellamy said after clearing his throat, biting his lip to keep from laughing at her facial expression. She looked so put out that he already knew the word origin.

“I really thought I had something good there…” She mumbled looking ahead. Bellamy could practically see the wheels turning in her head trying to come up with some other term or fact that she learned or looked up specifically to try and stump him. She had made a sort of game out of it recently… Trying to find some historical fact or event he didn’t know about. It was rare, but she occasionally did come up with something he hadn’t heard of. He enjoyed her challenging him, and, well, there was also this minor thing where Clarke talking about history being a real turn on for him, which was something he didn’t know existed until Clarke had done it.

“Actually,” Bellamy said thoughtfully as they drew closer to the center. “Something I don’t know is the meaning of me being your dark knight. What was all that about?”

“It’s a secret.” She said with a shrug, looking anywhere but at him.

“I love secrets… Tell me.” Bellamy said nudging her gently.

“Uh… It’s nothing.” She said uncertainly, like she was still making up here mind about something. She was still avoiding his eyes.

“Yeah, I can completely see that.” He said with sarcasm heavily embedded in his voice. “Want to try that again?”

“Look… I’ll tell you…” She said, finally turning to look up at him. “One day. Now hurry up slow poke.” She said walking faster. Well, as fast as her small shapely legs would carry her… One of his steps matched two of her though, so Bellamy easily kept up, his inner child throwing a tantrum of massive proportions, screaming, _But I want to know NOW!!_ He kept it in though… Not an easy feat.

Bellamy had their entire trip planned from the shops they would visit at the underground concourse, to all the art he wanted Clarke to see. He also wanted her to see the Channel Gardens. Bellamy wore his sunglasses and ball cap, as per usual, to keep his identity a secret. No one ever recognized him with it on… After all, why would a notorious businessman and reclusive billionaire, be in plain cloths out in public with a woman he’s never been seen with before. Oh yeah, because he’s the bomb at disguising himself in plain sight. The public’s never seen him in anything but a business suit or tux, on his way to or from work or an event, and that’s how he liked it… Just a boring guy doing boring business-y things.

They had an early dinner at Bill’s Bar & Burgers, and really enjoyed the American cuisine. Bellamy noticed Clarke didn’t really drink, other than a glass of wine here or there, and while he was more of a whiskey man himself, he enjoyed a good beer every once and a while, so he had a beer with his burger while Clarke opted for a chocolate milkshake. Bellamy was appalled when she first dipped a French fry in the cold icy beverage. Who did something like that?! When she looked up and saw his horrified expression, she busted out laughing. He refused to try it at first, just not seeing the appeal, but somehow, using the magical powers she seemed to have over him, she convinced him to try it, and well, he was hooked. They ended up trading their fries like they usually did, and dipping them in her milkshake. It felt so unbelievably right to be here with her laughing and smiling, and sharing food back and forth like lovers, just being outrageously happy, that he had a bit of a hard time fathoming it all.

They continued looking around at anything Clarke wanted until it was getting close to being dark outside, and it was only then that Bellamy decided to reveal the grand finale. They headed to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and traveled up to the top observation deck on the 70th floor. When they got off the elevator, Bellamy started to scan his surroundings. Seeing as how they were pretty much on the roof, the deck was completely open air, with large glass panes surrounding the perimeter to keep people from going over the edge of the building. He knew Clarke would love the complete 360-degree view of New York City. Bellamy was so caught up in looking around at the people milling about, he didn’t feel Clarke slip from his side and wonder nearer to the edge, gazing out at the amazing sight of the Empire State Building. When Bellamy turned to ask her something, and saw she wasn’t there, he felt his chest seize in panic. He looked around wildly for a few seconds before spotting her right in front of a glass pane trying to peer down to the streets below. He allowed himself a moment of relief before fear took over his body once again with a vengeance.

He did not like her being close to the edge. What if the ground was wet and she slipped, falling against the glass, and it was the ONE glass pane that was loose, and then she fell over the side plummeting to her death? _Or_ what if something hit the glass and shattered it, and she was sucked over the side of the building, and hurtled to her death? _OR_ what if someone pushed or knocked into her, and she hit the glass, and it shattered and she plunged to her death? Bellamy knew all of those scenarios were ridiculous, and had practically a nonexistence chance of happening… His rational mind knew that the glass was industrial grade, and probably indestructible, but a part of him couldn’t help but think she would be the one case that made the likelihood of something like that happening _practically_ nonexistent, and not just nonexistent. _It would happen to her just because I love her, and she’s the only one who makes me happy…_ Bellamy thought morosely before shaking himself out of his dismal thoughts and approaching her. He just needed to get her away from the edge. The electricity between them seemed to grow and hum with every step he took toward her… God how he loved it.

Bellamy walked up behind her, and slowly, carefully, slipped one of his arms around her upper waist drawing her back safely into his arms. He expected her to be startled or jump, be she wasn’t… She came easily to him, taking the necessary steps backward so her back was to his chest and relaxing into him, even though she hadn’t seen him or heard him. He wrapped his other arm around her, below his other one, both like steel cables around her rib cage under her bust. She laid her head back on his shoulder, and rested her arms on top of his that were wrapped tightly around her, almost clutching her to him.

He closed his eye and relaxed slightly, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, warm, soft, and safe. Her smell washed over him like a cleansing rain, and he never wanted to move… He could have died right there in her arms, and died a content man with a smile on his face. The feelings of happiness, peace, bliss, and euphoria were all drowned out by the utter indescribable love he had for this woman. It flooded his veins like fire, warming and burning as it went. The burn forever branded the pure love he had for her in his heart, so he would never be able to forget it. The intensity of it was startling, but oh so achingly right.

She sighed sweetly, and he opened his eyes to see her looking up at him almost upside down, her lips quirked up in a semblance of a smile. “So you don’t like heights?” She asked, in an understanding tone. He noticed she said ‘don’t like’ rather than ‘afraid’. He thought about it. He had no problem with heights… Unless she was near one. No he did not like them in that context at all, so he shook his head. “I don’t like the dark… Childish I know, but…” She trailed off shrugging halfheartedly seeing as how Bellamy was still holding her quite tightly. Bellamy shook his head… It wasn’t childish. He’d just have to make sure he was there every time to stare down whatever demons haunted her in the dark. She went back to looking at the almost picture like view of the city… The orange, purple, and pinks of the sunset that created a beautiful back drop of the city, already coming alive at night. Bellamy kissed her temple, silently letting her know he understood, accepted her, and didn’t think her fear was childish. He loved her… Every part of her.

They stayed at the top until way past dark, slowly and gradually moving around the perimeter, and looking at the vista. Clarke was always in Bellamy’s arms in one way or another. Bellamy reluctantly decided they needed to leave when he noticed a storm brewing off in the distant night sky. Thunder was heard rumbling lowly a ways off, and small flashes of lightening could be seen. He promised Clarke they’d come back at Christmas time when everything was decorated for the holiday.

They began to quickly walk back to Clarke’s apartment not wanting to get caught in the ensuing storm, and were almost there… About 5 to 10 minutes away. Bellamy thought they were going to make it just in the nick of time before it began raining. Of course the minute he thought it, the bottom fell out of the sky, and it began to downpour chilly rain in earnest. Bellamy quickly grabbed Clarke’s hand as they began running the rest of the way to her apartment. Bellamy didn’t want her getting sick, but gave not one thought to himself getting sick.

They tumbled through the lobby’s doors, completely soaked. Bellamy’s thin wet t-shirt clung to his body, while Clarke’s drenched hair stuck to the sides of her face. The cool temperatures of the building caused goosebumps to rise on Bellamy’s exposed wet skin. Clarke began to shiver, as her teeth chattered from the cold, her cardigan doing nothing to ward off the cold. Bellamy wrapped an arm around her shoulders tucking her into his side where she could get some heat. He always ran a few degrees hotter body temperature wise, and he was never more grateful for that than he was now when Clarke clung to him trying to absorb some of his body heat. They quickly hurried up the stairs as thunder was heard outside.

When they entered her apartment, it was faintly lit by the light over the stove and the occasional flashes of lightening outside. Bellamy shut the door behind him as she hurried to her bathroom and came back with a towel for him. He slipped his shoes off while she did the same, and then he began to dry himself off bit by bit. Clarke walked over to her closet and started rummaging around for her clothes he assumed. He was lost in thought, trying to decide whether or not he should just go home, and get changed before going to bed… He had a big day tomorrow, but he didn’t want to go just yet.

Clarke walked back over to him, and handed him what looked like a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Bellamy looked down at the clothes in his hand, confused for a moment, before it dawned on him that she was making the decision about him staying, for him. “Those are my brother’s clothes… He left them the last time he was over. Umm… You can change in here, and I’ll change in the bathroom.” She said with a blush, looking anywhere but at him.

“Okay.” Bellamy said in a hoarse voice. She scrambled back to the closet, grabbed a change of clothes and ducked into the bathroom. Bellamy walked further into the apartment, and laid the change of clothes over the back of the large couch. He stripped out of his wet clothes and put on the sweatpants. He went to grab the shirt, but movement in his peripheral stopped him and had him turning towards the movement.

The bathroom door was only a few feet away from him, and slightly open allowing some of the light to trickle into the still dark apartment, but all Bellamy could focus on was what he could see _through_ the slight opening… Clarke, standing in the bathroom with her back turned to him, was perfectly positioned to give him a glimpse of her with nothing but a bra and panties on. He was frozen, unable to turn his gaze away even as his subconscious was screaming ‘pervert’ at him.

The pale skin of her neck and shoulders looked so smooth and soft… Bellamy felt his fingers twitch, wanting nothing more than to be able to touch it. Her wet hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, which he knew was her favorite hair style when she was at home. His gaze traveled down, coming to a stop as saw the make out of a tattoo in the middle of her back, right over where her heart was, but under her bra so he couldn’t get a good look at it. Bellamy’s curiosity spiked wanting to know what it was, and the story behind it. Traveling further down her spine, his heart stopped, seeing the very faint outlines of 3 or 4 scars, each about three or so inches long and only about a centimeter wide. The only way he could really see them was due to the fact that the scarred skin was whiter than her already pale skin… It wasn’t raised like normal scarring. He also noticed a couple of small circular normal looking scars… What could those be from? He desperately wanted to know how she had been hurt… He’d hunt down and kill anyone who hurt her, but that would have to be later, because at that moment, he was too preoccupied by the two little dimples on her lower back, right above her lacy boy short panties that only cover half her ass. As he watched, she reached up behind her back to undo her bra clasp.

That act snapped Bellamy out of his trance, and had him quickly whirling around, clutching the back of the couch ‘til his knuckles went white in a desperate attempt to get himself under control. His eyes were scrunched together tightly, hoping she didn’t know he had been watching her, while trying to convince himself that barging in there and kissing her senseless was a bad idea. The plan… He had a plan, and it was a good plan. Nowhere in that plan did it say kiss her senseless before the first date while she’s naked in the bathroom changing. Oh but how he wanted to…

Bellamy was lost so deep in his thoughts, trying and failing to get himself back in the right mind frame so he didn’t screw up his plan, he didn’t see Clarke exit the bathroom, turning off the light behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. It was the gasp that had Bellamy turning to her, surprised she was standing there. He watched her eyes rake hungrily over his bare chest.

He fisted the T-shirt he still had in one hand, in an effort to stay in place, and not lunge for her, but she was standing there blushing that enticing pink color he loved so much, wearing nothing but a big T-shirt that dwarfed her small frame, and a pair of tiny shorts that were practically nonexistent in his opinion, just barely peeking out from underneath the shirt. _Stay strong… Don’t screw this up…_ His subconscious coached, but he was just a man, so when she bite her lip, still gazing at him with so much heat and longing in her eyes that it took his breath away, he lost it. _Fuck the plan…_ He thought throwing it out the window. It sucked anyway.

He dropped the shirt in his hands and obliterated the two steps that were separating them. He wrapped one strong arm around her lower back, dragging her against his warm chest and holding her there so she couldn’t escape. He was the hunter, and she was his prey now, completely at his mercy… His free hand came up and angled her face upwards toward him, his palm resting on her cheek while his fingers were on her neck, and then he was kissing her….

He had thought of kissing Clarke Griffin for a long, long time. Longer than he cared to admit, but nothing… Absolutely nothing his mind had conjured up, compared to the real thing. Her lips were so warm and soft… The softest he’d ever felt against his own. At first, it was just him kissing her… He could tell she was surprised, but after she didn’t start to kiss him back, Bellamy began to pull away, thinking she was rejecting him, but in an act that had him both equal parts relieved and ecstatic, she raised her hands, slipping them behind his head to his neck and then into his hair, pulling him down more to her level, as she began to kiss him back.

As the dark storm raged outside, Bellamy had his own personal sun wrapped tightly and securely in his arms inside, providing him with all the light and warmth he could ever need. At first, the kiss was slow, gentle, exploring, just feeling one another… It’s what Bellamy imagined kissing an angel would be like. But then again… He was kissing an angel, his angel.

Bellamy let the feeling of kissing her wash over him and kiss escalated, becoming passionate. He hoisted her short frame up against him, holding her off the floor so he didn’t have to stoop like he had been, and proceeded to kiss her breathless. He parted his lips against hers, biting her bottom lip gently, before soothing it with his tongue… She gasped lightly, and Bellamy took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss.

Bellamy had a strong aversion to being addicted to anything, but once he’d tasted her, Bellamy knew without a doubt in his mind that he was hooked on the lips of his angel. He knew he was a goner when he realized he loved her, but this just sealed the deal for him. She tasted so sweet and so wonderful… Bellamy couldn’t fathom all the time he’d wasted being just her friend, when he could have been kissing her from the beginning. The pesky need for oxygen demanded they separate, and so Bellamy gently released her luscious swollen lips. Pecking her lips once… Then twice…

They were both panting heavily from the lack of oxygen, but he refused to put her down in case she changed her mind, or freaked out. There was no way he could let her go now… Not now, not ever.

“Wow…” She breathed, resting her forehead against his, and closing her eyes, trying to get her breathing under control.

“Yeah…” He breathed back, closing his eyes too, and nuzzling her nose gently with his. Bellamy’s eyes snapped open with her next question though.

“What took you so long huh?” She asked in a voice barley above a whisper, opening her guileless blue eyes to peer at him curiously while her hand lazily combed through the hair on the back of his head.

“What?” He choked out in shocked.

“I’ve been waiting for you to get your head all sorted out, and make a move dude.” She said playfully, looking at him like he was ridiculous and supposed to know all this.

“But… I just… How… Explain.” Bellamy said shocked, setting her down, but not letting her move away from him.

“Bellamy, I had you pegged as the no relationship type when I met you, and I’m not really big on them either to be honest, but you were… I dunno. Different I guess, and I really liked you. When we first went out to the pizzeria, and you took me home, I knew you had no clue what to do, so being just friends was my way of making sure we were both comfortable with us being together, but not actually being together… I wanted to give us both time to think and see where this went, if it went anywhere at all, and now it has. Am I making sense?” She asked as her hands fell to cup his neck. He was distracted momentarily by her thumbs brushing back and forth soothingly.

“Yeah… I guess.” Bellamy mumbled. He was kind of upset because he knew they could have been together sooner if he’d have just known she liked him in a romantic sort of way, but he also knew what she did had been so ridiculously right for the timing. If she’d have come right out in the beginning or even a week after they’d met, wanting to be in a relationship or dating, he’d have run. Plain and simple. That thought set his heart racing. He could have inadvertently skipped out on the best thing that had ever happened to him… He could have sabotaged himself, and lost her before he even had her.

“It’s okay…” She said soothingly, seeing his distress. “We’re here now…” He nodded, knowing she was right. He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss, loving the fact that he could do that now. Before he could deepen it, her stomach growled, making them break apart. She giggled and Bellamy couldn’t resist closing his eyes and savoring the sound of the wondrous melody that was her giggle. It was his favorite sound in the whole world. He opened his eyes to see her ginning up at him sheepishly.

“Hungry?” He asked with a quirk of his eyebrows.

She nodded. “I walked off all the food we ate earlier… I’m famished.” She said.

Bellamy nodded as a thought came to him making him grin. He stooped down and threw her over his bare shoulder, making her squeal loudly in surprise and squirm, demanding, “Set me down this instant you barbarian! I am not a sack of potatoes or flour!” She said with a playful huff.

“Nope.” He said as he slapped her butt to make her stop squirming before he lost his grip and she fell. He turned to walk into the kitchen. It wasn’t a hard slap, but right as he went to set her down on the kitchen counter, he felt her slap his ass… Hard. He set her butt down on the island counter.

“Now listen here missy…” He said in a mock stern tone waggling his finger at her. “Behave… No kink in the kitchen, or you get no pancakes.” He said before rushing over to the couch and grabbing the dry shirt that was still on the floor behind it. He donned it on before going back to the kitchen and beginning to gather everything he needed to make the food, working easily while keeping an eye on her.

She blushed beat red at his rule looking down, before mumbling a petulant, “You started it.” Suddenly her head popped up, her eyes bright. “Did you say you’re making me pancakes? Wait…” Her eyes became wide with disbelief and doubt. “YOU’RE making ME pancakes? I actually really like my kitchen Bell, you know, that way it is… Not in ashes. I can make them!! Please don’t burn my kitchen down!!”

“Oh hush…” He said rolling his eyes grabbing the pan he needed. “I can cook pancakes. A man has to eat breakfast after all.”

“I dunno…” She said, skepticism heavy in her voice as she eyed him wearily.

“You don’t trust me?” He said stopping what he was doing and turning to look at her with a hurt expression on his face. He wasn’t actually hurt by her not believing he could cook… She’d heard plenty of horror stories from his grandmother, and well, she’d never actually _seen_ him cook by himself so her skepticism was warranted. He just wanted to see what she’d do if she thought he was hurt by something she said, and oh boy, she didn’t disappoint…

She gasped like he’d just told her the worst thing in the world. “Of course I trust you!!!” She said grabbing his hand and dragging him to where she was sitting on the counter, spreading her legs so her knees were cradling his hips, and flinging her arms around him in a hug. “I trust you… Promise.” She murmured as he hugged her back and gave her a few sweet chaste kisses. God she was so adorable, and well, he was in love… Sue him.

Once she finally let him go… More like dismissed him, demanding pancakes… Bellamy got to work making the pancakes while Clarke sat slicing strawberries and grapes on the counter, chatting away about her conversation with her brother earlier in the day and then talking to Nonni about the Fourth of July party in a weeks’ time. Bellamy listened and commented… He couldn’t keep the silly grin off his face though, and he didn’t really want to. They were together and so domestic… Bellamy never wanted it to change. He also couldn’t stop touching Clarke or kissing her for that matter. Her touch, her kisses, just her overall, was intoxicating to him, so when he was standing next to where she sat chopping fruit, and she abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence just to lean over and kiss him before resuming her sentence and chopping, Bellamy couldn’t stop his heart from soaring at the knowledge that she too loved to kiss him, and touch him. It’s like they did it to reassure themselves that the other was real… That the situation was real.

As they ate at the bar, Bellamy found himself sheepishly admitting to what his plan to get her entailed, and how a combination of his weakened mental state and her just being so damn irresistible, totally thwarted it.

“Bell…” She said exasperated, with a sigh. “Can you imagine how long it would have taken for us to get to this point if you had kept being a weirdo, and I wasn’t, as you so eloquently put it, ‘so damn irresistible’? We still would be just friends.”

“Hey…” Bellamy said with mock outrage after swallowing the last bite of pancake on his plate. “You’re the one that started that crap.”

“True, I am the genius-mastermind of this outfit.” She said with a grin before it slowly fell. She opened her mouth as if to say something but hesitated at the last second. Bellamy waited patiently, and was rewarded. “What made you decide that you even wanted to be more than friends with me?” She murmured almost self-deprecatingly, looking down at her empty plate as she drew lines in the left over syrup with her fork.

Bellamy sighed… He wanted to tell her about the dinner with his grandmother. He really did. He wanted to tell her how he was constantly thinking long term with her, how he was so ridiculously possessive of her in his mind that he had all but become a caveman, how much he loved her, and how she was his whole world, but he didn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her all of that just yet, not with how everything had progressed so perfectly that evening. No need to get greedy and ruin everything. Instead he told her his exact thought when he’d seen her standing there earlier in the night.

“I just couldn’t stand the thought of not being with you for one more moment.” He said with such sincerity, with such absoluteness in his voice, it came out sounding thick with emotion. She looked up at him then, her blue eyes so clear, enchanting, and hopeful, he couldn’t help but kiss her once more, a reassuring type of kiss, before getting up to quickly clean up. Once he was done, he pulled her over to the couch so they could watch TV… Or at least that is what he claimed. He really just wanted to hold her.

They sat as the usually did with Clarke cuddled into his left side, her head on his shoulder and her knees hooked over one of his. He had his left arm slung across the back of the couch, around her shoulder. The TV was playing quietly in the background, but neither of them were paying any attention. Instead, Bellamy watched as Clarke held his right hand in both of her smaller ones, tracing the lines on his palm. As he watched her, Bellamy tried and failed to think of one thing that he would want to change in his life if he could. All the pain and horror he’d endured and seen, he wouldn’t change, all for the sheer fact that it brought him to this very point… It brought him to her, and she was his everything.

He watched as she held his right hand and her left hand together, palm to palm and fingers lined up, admiring the differences both seen and felt. His hands were big, while hers were small. His skin was a rich tan color, while her alabaster skin glowed in the dimly lit apartment. His hands were rough from having been submerged in blood and handling weapons all his life, while hers were soft and smooth, delicate to the touch from healing people for the majority of hers. But despite all the glaring differences, their hands fit together perfectly… Like they were made for one another, and molded to fit exactly.

Bellamy laced their hands together and brought her hand to his mouth, gently brushing feather light kisses to each of her knuckles. “Will you tell me something, if I asked you?” Bellamy asked lowly bringing their intertwined hands down to her lap, as she looked up as him, her head still resting on his shoulder.

“I don’t know…” She answered honestly, her eyebrows furrowed. “Ask, and we’ll see…”

“Earlier, when we were leaving to go out, what was with the whole prince and dark knight thing, and why as Alison so happy about it?” He asked. It had bugged him so bad, like a nagging little voice in the back of his head saying that it was something he should know.

She sighed heavily. “You really want to know?” She asked wearily. He nodded hesitantly, suddenly fearful… Was it bad? “When Alison and I first played dress up, the subject was brought up somehow, and I wound up explaining how I don’t like princes… In the stories, they’re always these perfect guys, who save the damsel in distress, become the hero just for simply saving her, and can do no wrong. They’re flawless, and I just don’t like them or care for them. She asked me who the princess should fall in love with then, and I told her that the real person a princess should have her happily ever after with was the dark knight. He’s sometimes the mean gruff scary looking guy, and he doesn’t always start off with the best intentions, but deep down he’s the real good guy and he grows into the hero by standing up for those that can’t stand up for themselves, doing the tough stuff, and protecting those he cares about most. He knows the princess doesn’t need saving… She can save herself, but in the rare instances that she can’t save herself, the dark knight has no boundaries or morals standing in the way of him saving her, whereas the prince does.” She shrugged before continuing.

“Basically, my backwards way of thinking deems the prince the bad guy, and the dark knight the good guy. Alison thought the whole thing was brilliant. When she asked me earlier whether you were my prince or not, she was asking if you were a bad guy. When I told her you were my dark knight, I was basically giving her my seal of approval that you were a good guy, and very important to me. After all, I don’t want the prince, I want the dark knight.” She said looking up at him with those ingenuous blue eyes that he saw a future in. Of course his Clarke, the girl who found the hero in the story ridiculous and pitied the villain, would declare the prince a pompous ass and want the dark knight of the story. God he loved how her mind worked… He loved _her,_ period.

“What if I’m not the dark knight?” He said, his voice breaking on the truth of the statement lurking behind the question… He wasn’t the dark knight, he was worse than that.

She smiled at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes… “Well, I guess it’s a good thing we don’t live in a fairy tale then, huh?” She said letting go of his hand to bring it up to cup his jaw. Bellamy closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “But you are you know…” She said softly as he opened his eyes to look at her again. “You’re my dark knight… That is, if you want to be.” She said with a hint of uncertainty.

Bellamy moved her so she was straddling his lap, both of his hands on her hips, holding her steady so she didn’t topple over from how quickly he had moved her. Her free hand came up to cup his other cheek, their faces just inches apart “I want nothing more…” He whispered the truth before closing the distance between them, kissing her fiercely. He poured all the love and devotion he had for her into the kiss. He did not know the meaning of true happiness until that moment. The girl he loved not only wanted him back, but was in his arms kissing him just as passionately as he was her, and while he was unsure if she loved him like he loved her, he knew he had time… They had time. All the time in the world really.

They stayed like that for several more minutes, just making out like teenagers. It was something he’d never really done before… Kissing a woman just to kiss them, with no intentions to have sex. He’d never enjoyed kissing a woman before. He’d done it a few time in his younger days, and had avoided it since, the act feeling too personal, too intimate. But with Clarke, all he wanted to do was kiss her… Yes, he wanted sex too, he was a man after all, but it wasn’t at the forefront of his mind, and he knew he wanted to get their relationship to a deeper level before they had sex. They had time… So much time. For now though, he just wanted to hold her, feel her soft body against his holding him close like he had longed for her to, and drinking from her sweet lips all the ambrosia he could consume. She was his goddess… His princess… His angel… His saving grace…

When they broke apart once again (damn oxygen), they snuggled down into the couch together, Clarke lying on his chest with her head resting on his shoulder, watching whatever cheesy romance movie she found while flipping through the channels… It was funny how he no longer envied the guy who got the girl in the movie. He got his girl, and she was better than any character Hollywood could create or even think of creating. He felt her start to relax as he lazily ran his hands over her back.

“Hey Princess…” He whispered in case she was asleep.

“Hmm?” She hummed burrowing further in his arms. Okay, so sort of asleep, but coherent… Maybe she’d be less alert and guarded and let something slip that gave him a clue as to what was going on inside her head, being on the verge of sleep and all.

“Can I ask you something?” He said hesitantly tightening his grip on her, nervous about asking her the question, but even more nervous about her answer… It had been haunting him since the night before at dinner with his grandmother, and he wanted to put to rest once and for all.

“You can ask, but I don’t know if I’ll answer.” She mumbled not even moving to look at him or open her closed eyes. “I _usually_ like my Bellamy-pillow to be less talkie-talkie and more squishy-squishy. Well, actually, you’re not squishy at all… You’re hard. Wait, I mean you’re very muscly, and I love that, so it’s good you’re not squishy, I mean I’d still like you if you were fat, not that you’re fat, again, you’re hard, but not like that well sort of like that. But I mean you’re my pillow because you’re warm, and I fall asleep on you all the time, not that you’re boring, because you’re not, well sometimes I have no idea what you’re saying and I daydream a little because I get distracted by your eyes or your smile, but you’re not usually boring. I fall asleep on you because I feel safe… Wait, why am I telling you all of this?” She asked in an adorable confused tone. He could almost _feel_ her eyebrows start to furrow in her confusion, but she didn’t open her eyes, due to still being kind of out of it or embarrassment for her outburst, Bellamy couldn’t tell. Bellamy tried not to laugh or chuckle, and boy was it hard. So she was actually a rambler when she was semi-conscious… Dear God that was endearing.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t have made a move tonight?” He asked softly, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

“Hmm… Waited.” She mumbled. Bellamy’s heart sped up, thumping erratically in his chest at her response. She would have waited? For him? He knew she could feel his reaction with her hand lying on his chest the way it was… Hell, she could probably hear the loud thumping too. She opened her eyes and lifted her head up peering at him curiously…

“What? What is it Bellamy?” She asked reaching a hand up to brush his hair back away from his face in what was meant as a soothing motion… It was working.

“You’d have waited?” He asked around the lump in his throat. “Why?” He asked confused.

Her eyes softened on him. “Because you’re worth the wait Bellamy Blake. Where is this coming from?” She asked with concern.

“My grandmother was planning to introduce you to someone this Sunday at church…” He trailed off, not meaning to have said the words out loud, but found himself confessing them anyway.

“I’m not following…” She said, her eyebrows scrunching together further.

“She was going to introduce you to him like she did me…” He said hintingly, hoping that statement clarified some of her confusion.

“Bellamy… She introduced us as friends, not knowing we had already met a couple days before when I patched you up.” Clarke said even more confused.

“Ugh! Clarke, she was going to set you up with him!” Bellamy said tensely, hating even thinking about it, much less having to say the words out loud… She was _his_ damn it _._ Clarke sat up so she was straddling him on the couch and looked down at him like he was crazy.

“Bellamy Blake, she was not! I seriously wonder about you sometimes… I wonder if you exaggerate the things you tell me about her.” Clarke said sending him a fond eye roll, leaning down to kiss his cheek before sitting up again. “You make her out to be this meddling, matchmaking, fire-breathing Fury, and I just can’t put the sweet older woman I know with your version… You know, the one where she’s constantly kicking your ass and running circles around you, and just might be the sassiest, canniest, most terrifying person in the whole wide world.”

“That’s exactly what she does! Exactly what she is!” Bellamy said, his eyes widening at the description. “You summed it up perfectly! Take for instance the other night at dinner… When she asked you if you wanted to bring someone to the Fourth of July party, she was asking if you wanted to bring another man as your date!”

“Oh jeez.” Clarke said, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders started shaking, and for one fearful moment, Bellamy was scared he made her cry, but them she started giggling like mad. She dropped her hands giving him a clear view of her mirth filled face. She kept laughing until her sweet giggles turned into full out peals of laughter.

Bellamy felt himself involuntarily begin to smile, even as he said, “It’s not funny!” She kept laughing though, until she was doubled over clutching her side. Bellamy took advantage of the situation and flipped them so she was on her back and he was looming above her. He started to blow raspberries on her neck and tickling her sides, making her giggle again and try and squirm away from him. “Stop! Stop! Your right! It’s not funny! Surrender! I surrender!” She called breathlessly, making him stop and look at her with a triumphant smug grin…

“Oh Bellamy…” She sighed thoughtfully. “What am I doing to do with you?” She asked with an amused shake of her head.

 _Love me… Feed me… Hold me… Never let me go…_ He thought vulnerably, while saying, “Whatever the hell you want Princess… Whatever the hell you want.”

“Even if your grandmother had been trying to set me up or get me to bring another man to her party…” She started off, gazing at him tenderly.

“Which she was…” Bellamy said gruffly, petulantly, still mad his grandmother had pulled that shit and even more pissed that he’d fallen right into her carefully laid trap.

Clarke gave him a stern look telling him to hush. “IF she was, and I don’t believe she was, it still wouldn’t have mattered… I was waiting for you, and honestly, the signs were all there you dork.” She said shrugging halfheartedly. “Do you think I let all my male friends hold my hand, or hold me the way I let you? Do you think I cuddle with them like I do you?”

“I certainly hope not!” Bellamy said outraged.

“I don’t!” Clarke said quickly. “But seriously, you have no reason to worry. We’re here now…” She said grabbing his face and kissing him deliciously, making him lose all train of thought. She… Well, she dazzled him, right out of the conversation they were just having… That could be dangerous for him. Extremely dangerous.

When they broke away, Bellamy felt relieved at having a better knowledge of where her feelings were. He kissed her once more, before sliding down and laying his head on her chest, hearing her steadily beating heart. The sound was comforting… She was alive. She was here. She was with him.

He felt her fingers begin to brush through his hair… He sighed and relaxed, loving the extraordinary feeling. Bellamy felt himself start to drift off…

**_XxxX_ **

Bellamy woke groggy and disoriented… Where was he? He took a quick scan of the room, taking a mental note of the TV still playing quietly, from where he was laying on something soft and warm and… Moving?

Bellamy lifted his head up from where he’d been laying saw Clarke sleeping peacefully beneath him. Her hands were splayed out on his upper back, holding him to her. Oh yeah, he was at Clarke’s place. They’d obviously fallen asleep on the couch cuddled together. Bellamy reached over to grab his phone off the coffee table, careful not to disturb his angel from her slumber. Hitting the power button he saw a couple of messages from one of his guys that he’d dispatched to go pick up the Griffin’s from the airport and take them to the hotel.

_Griffin family picked up, in route to hotel. –Vitale_

_Griffins dropped off at hotel, checked in, and settled in for the night.-Vitale_

He also had a couple of missed calls from Jake, but no voicemail messages. Bellamy hadn’t gotten any more calls from the man since he’d ignored the call shortly before he and Clarke left earlier in the evening. _That must have been because he was on the plane…_ Bellamy mused before noticing the time 1:48 AM. He probably should get going… The meeting the next day was at 11 AM, and while he’d rather sleep here, in exactly this position, he knew it probably wasn’t too terribly comfortable for her, and she’d be better rested if she slept in a bed. So it was with a heavy heart he got up off the couch, smiling a bit at her mumbled protests and her cute pout at having her heat source and blanket taken away from her.

He scooped her up into his arms and she immediately snuggled further into his hold clutching his T-shirt, sighing so contently, his knees almost buckled from the title wave of affection and love for her that rolled over him. He walked over to her bed and slipped her under the covers. As he stood there watching her sleep, he argued with himself. It would be so effortless, so easy, to just slip into bed beside her, and hold her close for the rest of the night.

 _Man, we’ve been over this…_ His subconscious shook its head mournfully at him. _She’s going to think your weird, and a pervert. We’ve got time, dude, besides you’re turning us into a giant softy. Get a grip… Let’s just go home to our cold… empty… lonely bed. Okay, never mind, bad idea, crawl in._

Bellamy sighed heavily, knowing leaving was the right thing to do. He hated being the damn good guy… Frankly, it sucked. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, before turning to leave. Suddenly, a hand grasped his wrist, halting him. He looked down to see a pair of magnificent, slightly sleepy, endless blue eyes staring back at him.

“You always leave…” She whispered quietly, almost sadly. “Stay this time? Will you stay with me?” She asked him faintly, hesitantly almost, as if she were afraid he would deny her or reject her.

Bellamy froze. Wait, she wanted him to stay now? But what if she was still asleep, and said it because she thought she was dreaming and didn’t remember any of this in the morning, and then freaked out… _Was she sure?_

His uncertainty must have shown because she slipped her hand from his wrist to his hand and tugged once before repeating “Stay. I’m sure.” Making Bellamy realize he’d said his last question out loud. He nodded once… It’s not like he really had a choice. He’d do anything she’d ask of him. He’d stay the night, and if she regretted asking him it in the morning, we’ll he’d have the memory of holding her all night to last him for the rest of his life.

He turned and walked over to the TV, turning it off, and putting the remote on the coffee table, before grabbing his phone and heading to the front door to lock it. Once the door was secure, he turned off the light in the kitchen, leaving the light above the stove on, before turning back to her bedroom area. The storm from earlier had cleared, and the moon was out illuminating the bed and its sole occupant… Waiting for him. Bellamy felt his heart begin to pound. He couldn’t fathom how drastically things had changed in his favor from when he’d went to bed the night before, alone, to now where he had the woman of his dreams waiting for him.

He walked to the bed and stopped at the edge, looking down. Clarke had moved to the opposite side of the bed, making room for him to lay down beside her he guessed, and was laying on her side facing him with her eyes closed and her hands tucked under her face like a child. She had let her hair down while he’d been locking up for the night, and her now dried soft blond curls were spread out on the pillow behind her. She looked every bit the angel he knew she was.

Bellamy slipped his phone on the nightstand by the bed, not taking his eyes off her sleeping form. His hands went behind his neck to his T-shirt collar, ready to take it off, and paused as his thoughts took him to a dark place. He never slept with a shirt on because it was terrible to wake up from a nightmare with it drenched in sweat. His nightmares… He didn’t want her to witness that. He sometimes woke up thrashing around, what if he hurt her? Fear took over his body, and he subconsciously took a step back from the bed. He would die before he hurt her… Literally die…

“Come here…” Clarke said gently, her eyes open once again and understanding on him. She move one of her hands from under her face and held it out for him in a silent invitation. He slipped his shirt from over his head and dropped it to the floor. He regained the step he’d lost and slipped into the soft bed, her lavender smell enveloping him like a cocoon of safety and contentment. He laid on his back with his head turned facing her. He was a little out of his comfort zone, and he knew she could tell. He watched, fascinated, as she shook her head at him like she was saying ‘ _This simply won’t do.’_ , and moved to close the distance between them. She moved so that one of his arms was lying beneath her as her head settled on his bare shoulder with her forehead tucked into his neck between his jaw and collar bone. Her soft warm breaths ghosted over the bare flesh of his torso sending shivers of pleasure over his exposed skin. Her small free hand, the one that wasn’t resting under her side, came up to hold the side of his neck. She was effectively curled into his side.

While Bellamy’s mind didn’t actively know what to do and was still processing the fact that he was in Clarke Griffin’s bed, his body did know what it wanted to do. He rolled more onto his side so he could cradle her smaller form in his arms, and tangled their legs together. He brought his arms around her… The one underneath her settled at the base of her spine where her shirt had ridden up some, exposing a sliver of skin that was cool to touch. He used his other hand to pull the covers up over them, not wanting her to get cold during the night, before settling it on her wrist that was lying on his upper chest. He leaned his head to the side so it rested on hers.

This was what heaven felt like, he was sure of it. He kissed the top of her head, feeling his body begin to relax… The even breathing of the girl in his arms lulling him to sleep faster and better than any sleeping pill, lullaby, or home remedy he’d ever tried. He wanted to go to sleep like this, exactly like this, for the rest of his life…

His last conscious thought before he fell into a deep sleep was, _Time… We’ve got so much time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it looks like Clarke isn't as unobservant about certain things as we thought... I wonder what else she's observed. Jake's in town finally, and he's been unsuccessfully trying to get a hold of Bellamy... Seems like Clarke's dad is having the same trouble as Jake... Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser. So did anyone have a favorite part? If so, what was it? The run in with the Vies out in the hallway, or their time at Rockefeller Center, or the kiss, or everything after the kiss? Okay now the real stuff... Did anyone think it happened too quickly? Should I have waited for 2 or 3 chapters before I did this one? Lay it on me people... I can take it, I promise. :)
> 
> Okay, I've got an update on my bad reviewer. So not only did I get another review with VERY offensive vulgar language, but I learned you can actually block people on FF. The review was like some weird alien mix of cursing Octavia and Raven out, but kind of saying I was an okay writer because I haven't written them in. I didn't respond to their ridiculousness. So lemme just clarify... OCTAVIA AND RAVEN WILL BE IN THIS STORY! They are just coming in later. THEY WILL BE HERE! One more time for the people in the back you say? OCTAVIA AND RAVEN WILL BE IN THE STORY ENTITLED 'LIPS OF AN ANGEL'... AKA THIS STORY! Now, about this amaze-balls block button... Its the bomb. I found it, and right when I hit the block button, I did a little finger gun going 'Pew, Pew'. I may have been a little childish and unblocked them just to block them again and have another reason to do another 'Pew, pew'. Don't judge me... It's fun! Now, I'm not naive enough to believe it'll stop them from logging out and reviewing as a guest, but hey... I'll still know who it is, and I can delete it if I want :P
> 
> The last, most terrible thing I have to tell you is... I wont be updating for 3 weeks. *Covers ears because of the screaming and ducks behind a big random boulder that I just imagined because of bottles, hairbrushes, books and alarms being thrown at me* Guys guys guys! I have a reason, I promise! Hear me out! *Everything quiets... Peaks out from behind the massive rock seeing everyone holding various threatening objects, and glaring with raised eyebrows* Umm... Hi... I love you... Want sit down? Need some water? A pillow to hold? Hugs? I can give 'em all. So i need three weeks off to deal with some stuff. My mom has a doctors appointment in Jacksonville coming up this week, in the middle of the week, that I'm going home to take her to... Basically after a 13 hour school day (five classes over the course of the day) I've got a 4 hour drive home to get up the next day and do a round trip of about 12 driving hours, before school the next day. I'm gonna be completely wiped out people!! Then I've got midterms that I need to study for and construction going on at my grandparents house, so things are hectic, not to mention I'm doing community service every weekend of this month... It's for an environment class that I regret taking so bad. I'm not a criminal, promise, I only wish I were :P If I get done a week early, I promise I'll be posting... If not, the next posting will be on the 23rd of October. So sad I know, believe me, I hate it. At least I'm not leaving you all on a terrible cliff hanger or in the lurch! That would be too cruel of me... I couldn't do it to you all. I would suggest re reading the story and preparing yourselves for the dark times ahead, for they are brewing...
> 
> SPOILERS : Next chapter, were going to get a flashback of Bellamy's morning with Clarke. Jake has a minor heart attack due to the wording of something Bellamy says. The major reveal, and the meeting of course... Must I say more? I can't sorry... It would give too much away.
> 
> Anyways, I love you all so much, and I thank you all so much for the support you have offered me in comments, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions. Keep them coming, because they are my writing fuel, and they honestly get me through the week, or weeks in this case :/  
> -Redhead17x


	17. Calm Before the Storm, Then the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. First off, I am so sorry! Both for the super late update and not responding to your comments. I promise I didn't forget about any of you, I've just been having a really rough time of it lately, personally, academically, and physically. Not to mention this chapter gave me so many fits... I'm not even lying. If it wasn't for my amazing beta AvengerGirl17, I would still be struggling writing it. She was oh so patient with me and soothing my doubts/fears that seemed to surround this chapter... She's just so awesome. Anyway, writing over 23k words is no easy feat people... Longest chapter yet.
> 
> Warnings: Okay, so the language gets pretty strong at some points, and name calling is a big theme this chapter, so be warned. Also there are a LOT of threats, and even a couple of violent little scene at the middle and end... Lets just say we finally get to see a little of Badass!Clarke coming out to play, and its only a taste really, of what I have planned for future chapters. I have warned everyone... Repeatedly... about the level of sadness in this chapter. Now, get your tissues, get you're teddy bear, and buckle in... I pull no punches this chapter.  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 17- Calm Before the Storm, Then the Storm**

As Bellamy stood in front of the glass wall of windows in his office, he couldn’t stop the little grin from slipping onto his face while gazing out at the bustling busy city below. He was looking at the city, but he wasn’t truly seeing it, too lost in thought at how atrociously wonderful the morning had been starting from the moment he woke up…

_Bellamy slowly regained consciousness, feeling something warm brush gently against the bare skin of his back. He was lying on his stomach, with his arm extended over the vacant cold side of the bed where Clarke had slept the night before. As the fog of a good night’s sleep slowly cleared away from his mind, and his senses came to him, Bellamy felt the bright morning light shining on his face, streaming in through the window his head was facing directly, and the smell of breakfast wafting through the apartment. As he laid there in thought on were his princess was, wanting to go and find her, but too comfortable to move, he felt the warm brushing sensation that had woken him once again, fluttering lightly over the tattoo on the middle of his upper back, and tracing the various scars that littered his entire back. His eyes were still closed, not having opened at all since waking up, and his breathing still even… All signs to anyone looking that he was still asleep._

_He felt the bed on one side dip, and then the other as the woman in question straddled him, sitting on his lower back… The gentle touching never faltering. Bellamy tried not to smile… He really did, but it didn’t work. He felt her lean down and kiss his left shoulder blade, working her way up the side of his neck ‘til she reached his ear, whispering, “I knew you were awake sleepyhead.” Before brushing a kiss behind his ear making him shiver with the pleasurable contact. “I made breakfast if you’re hungry…” She said kissing down along his jaw to his lips, and kissing him deeply before pulling back… She tasted like mint and orange juice, such a strange combination, but exquisite none the less. This was one hell of a way to wake up… He could definitely get used to this._

_She began tracing his triskelion tattoo. “What does this mean?” She asked him curiously._

_“Uh…” Bellamy cleared his throat, rough from sleep, and slowly started to blink his eyes open in the harsh bright morning light. “It’s the Celtic triskele or triskelion, which literally means "three-legged" in Greek.”_

_“I know what it means nerd…” She said with fond sigh. “I meant what does it mean to you? What is its history in relation to you?”_

_“Oh…” He said thoughtfully… No one outside of his crew really knew he had it much less the meaning behind it. “Well, right after I… met all of my friends…” He said, choosing not to say after he had finished creating his crew… “I was getting ready to get a new tattoo, and Jasper decided it would be a great idea for us all to get matching tattoos… Like a brotherhood kind of thing. So we sat down and the Celtic triskele is what we went with. It means something different to all of us, but the main thing it promotes I guess is family. It’s a reminder to never forget the pain of the past and where you come from so you never go back, to live in the present and then to use both to strive towards and make a better future.”_

_“Is that all?” She asked sensing there were other meanings behind the ink._

_Bellamy grinned… Ever perceptive she was. He slowly turned so he was lying on his back staring up at her… She was still in the same shirt and shorts from the night before, her natural blonde curls were wild from sleep, and her bright blue eyes were wide open intently watching him, waiting for an answer. She looked so radiantly beautiful, Bellamy couldn’t help but draw her down and kiss her again. She pulled back after a few seconds and gave him a stern stare. “We are talking Mister… Behave and stop trying to distract me. It’s working… I want to know the other meanings.” She said intrigued._

_Bellamy shook his head no. He couldn’t tell her the other meanings just yet… Those other meanings were rooted in his other life, and she didn’t know about that just yet. He couldn’t tell her until things were serious, otherwise there would be major consequences, not just for him, but her as well. Life and death consequences. “I’ll tell you some other time… I’ve got to keep some of my mysteries and secrets.” He said with a teasing grin._

_She rolled her eyes “Fine… What about this one…” She asked brushing her fingers over the tattoo on his left pec._

_“It’s my family crest…” He said as she took in the black shield with a thick blue strip going down the center and a silver eagle on the front. Below it on a silver banner with black lettering was his last name, Blake, spelled out. Above the shield were two silver banners with the motto spelled out in Latin._

_“What do the words mean?” She said tracing the two lines of foreign words._

_“‘Accipe me tales qualis et ego sum’ means ‘Take me such as I am’.” He said watching her reaction. She smiled a little, before kissing the tattoo._

_“Let’s see…” She said moving on to the next tattoo he had which was a quote written along his left side on his ribcage. It was three little lines of Italian… Bellamy opened his mouth to translate it, but she shocked him, reading it in perfect English. “‘Create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave.’… A quote by Brancusi if I’m not mistaken. Very you if I do say so myself.” She mused._

_Bellamy knew he must look like a fish with the way his mouth kept opening and closing, but the situation warranted it… She knew Italian!!!_

_“Oh…” She said giggling at seeing Bellamy’s stunned face. “I guess I forgot to mention… I know Italian.” She said smugly._

_“How come you didn’t tell me!!?” Bellamy said with mock outrage, grabbing her waist and rolling her onto her back before he started to tickle her making her laugh. She started to try and fight him off, still laughing all the while. Bellamy stopped tickling her, too entranced by the sight of her golden blonde hair strewn across the sheets framing her lovely face, flushed with happiness. Clarke looked up at him with so much fondness, affection, and what he believed was adoration, Bellamy couldn’t help but think there was love in the look as well. He leaned down to kiss her, but found the world being tipped around. Bellamy went with it and let her get the upper hand as she flipped them back over so she was straddling him again. Her strength surprised him once again… She was such a tiny little thing; how could she flip a man almost twice her size? Bellamy had no clue… He watched as she pinned his hands beside his head, looking smug at her victory._

_“Well Princess, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you like being on top huh…” He said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. He watched as she rolled her eyes and tried to stop a smile from slipping onto her face as a blush crept up her neck onto her cheeks._

_“Oh whatever…” She huffed, before looking down at him again, with a soft smile on her face. She let go of his wrists and brought her hands to cup the sides of his face while he moved his hands to her hips. She leaned down so they were chest to chest and she was effectively covering his whole upper body with her own lying on top of him. She kissed him deeply, soundly, and he returned it with gusto. There was a combined urgency neither of them quite understood, it was almost like they felt it would be their last… Which was ridiculous seeing as how they had time. They had time right? His subconscious was shaking its head at him saying ‘No… No you don’t.’ Unfortunately, the gut feeling he’d had all week since Monday, the one warning him something bad was fixing to happen, had steadily grown worse since then… He didn’t know what it was, or why he had it, all he knew was something was happening, and it was going to change everything… But as long as he had Clarke, he could make it through anything. Losing his company? War? Apocalypse? Hell, even hell itself he could make it through as long as he knew Clarke was waiting for him on the other side._

_When she pulled back from the kiss, she rested her forehead against his trying to catch her breath while looking deeply into his eyes as if trying to memorize everything about the moment. Bellamy understood perfectly, because he was doing the very same thing… From the way her hands caressed his jawline and her thumb swept across his cheekbone to the way her breathing matched his and the feel of her soft curves molded to the hard muscled planes of his body, he was storing every second, every feeling, away in the recesses of his mind. Her hair created a curtain around them, effectively shutting the outside world out. She sighed so contently, so peacefully, Bellamy felt it down in his dark fragmented soul, stitching the tattered remaining pieces back together. He closed his eyes, savoring everything he was feeling… All the love he felt for her and feelings of being cherished she invoked in him._

_He felt her nuzzle his nose with her own, and opened his eyes to look at her to find her intense piercing blue eyes already on him. “Oh how I love your eyes…” She whispered, almost as though she were afraid to break the fragile amiable silence that had surrounded them. “The most beautiful eyes I’ve seen in my life really. I feel like I can see everything you’re thinking…” She said, gazing at him with such tenderness it made his heart ache so bittersweetly. He wondered if she could see the love he had for her in his eyes… He was sure it must have been written all over his face…_

_She kissed him once more before pulling away and sitting up. She climbed off him and crawled off the bed, before starting to walk off to the kitchen declaring, “Breakfast, mia cara bel cavaliere oscuro.” Bellamy quickly sat up and scrambled to the edge of the bed, grabbing one of her hands and pulling her back to him. She turned around with her eyebrows quirked in confusion. He drew her closer so she was standing between his spread knees._

_“Your darling handsome dark knight eh?” He asked looking up at her amused expression, with a lopsided grin of his own._

_“Sì tesoro.” Bellamy’s grin grew wider hearing her say ‘yes, darling’ in Italian. Looks like speaking Italian was another major turn on… “You’re the one that started the Italian terms of endearment…” She said grinning at his look of horror, and running her hand through his unruly dark curls on the top of his head. “What was it you called me?” She asked thoughtfully, pausing her ministrations, to look up at the ceiling and tap the index finger on her free hand against her chin in an exaggerated display of thought. “Oh yes!! Your sweet, beautiful girl.” She said almost smugly looking down at him, while Bellamy felt himself blush violently… “Or what about Wednesday when you called me your darling princess?”_

_Bellamy’s mouth dropped. “You knew!” He said accusingly, completely flabbergasted. He remembered the look of forced confusion on her face when she asked what he said and guessed what language he’d said it in. He remembered being confused as her reaction, but shrugging it off… The little fox knew what he’d been saying the whole time!!_

_He felt her tap his jaw twice with her index finger. “Close your mouth Bell, wouldn’t want to catch a fly…” She teased._

_“Why didn’t you tell me? Or call me on it?” He asked confused once more._

_“I make it a rule to not let people know which languages I can or can’t understand or speak, because then they underestimate me. I get stereotyped as the stupid ditzy blonde more than you would think, and I have no clue why, I mean I’m a doctor for goodness sakes. People are like, that sweet dense little blonde? Nah she won’t understand French or Russian or Italian… Let me just speak it in front of her and tell you everything I think of her. It has come in handy…” She said shrugging._

_Bellamy was in awe of her… Seriously, she was amazing. But there was one thing… “You know I don’t think that right? That you’re just a simple-minded ditzy blonde I mean, because in all honesty, it couldn’t be farther from what I truly think of you. I think you are so incredibly intelligent, and clever, and intuitive, and bright, and quick-witted…” Bellamy rambled a bit, worried that was what she thought he thought of her. “I am so amazed by you and everything you do,” He confessed, “and also slightly terrified.” He added quickly. She chuckled at him, and shook her head in amusement._

_“Of course I know you don’t think I’m like that… I wouldn’t be with you if you did, but it’s also really nice hearing what you do think of me. Which, all of what you think of me goes two fold for you…” She said still running her hand through his hair._

_“Oh no way…” He said shaking his head… His self-loathing rearing its ugly head._

_“Oh yes way Mister, now let’s go eat a cold breakfast…” She said firmly,_ _not hearing another word from him on the matter. “I waited on waking you up so you could sleep as long as possible, and then you take almost half an hour getting up…” She said with a fake disproving tone, tugging him to his feet and toward the kitchen._

_“You were the one asking questions and beings so… So…” Bellamy started out grumpily, quickly losing the words he wanted to say._

_“Say it…” Clarke said stopping and turning to look at him with narrowed eye._

_“So… Damn… Irresistible…” He growled dragging her back into his arms with the intention to kiss her… Unfortunately, Clarke had other ideas._

_“Listen here Mister Tall-Dark-and-Handsome, or do you prefer Sex-on-Legs?” She asked cheekily. “It was you that was being too tempting this morning and getting us off schedule. How is a girl supposed to resist an adorable sleep rumpled you? Seriously… How do you wake up looking like this?” She asked waving her hand up and down the length of his body. “And I wake up looking like this?” She said, doing the same waving motion to herself. “It’s so unfair… We have no one to blame but you for our tardiness.” She said in a ‘What can you do’ tone of voice with a helpless little shrug._

_“Okay Princess, first off, it’s a little after nine, and we’ve got places to be by 11, we’ve got time…” He trailed off._

_“Says the person waking up looking like a Greek god.” She interrupted with a pout. “We mere mortals require time to get ready, especially the females.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bellamy said shaking his head and looking at her in amusement. “The only deity walking around here is your fine goddess ass.” He said ducking down to kiss her, hoping to do that dazzling thing she did last night, and distract her right out of the conversation. She immediately melted at his feet when his lips touched hers, and he deepened the kiss. When he pulled back to examine her dazed expression, Bellamy counted the effort firmly in the win column._

_“What… I just…” She stuttered. “What were we talking about?”_

_“Breakfast… Feed me woman!” He demanded dramatically making her bust out laughing, before pulling him to the bar._

_After a hearty breakfast of cold waffles and bacon, room temperature fruit and cold fresh squeezed orange juice, Bellamy reluctantly got dressed in the clothes from yesterday that had dried hanging up in the bathroom. Clarke was trying to quickly shoo him out the door, claiming if she was late or showed up looking anything less than perfect, she’d never hear the end of it from her mother. Bellamy protested of course… Seriously she was perfect just the way she was. How was it possible to loathe someone you’ve never met? Because that’s exactly how he felt about her mother…. He loathed her and the way she treated her daughter. Couldn’t she see how amazing her extraordinary daughter was? Apparently not._

_Bellamy grabbed his keys off the little table by the front door, and slipped on his shoes. He quickly pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly knowing he wouldn’t get to do so for several hours, if not for the rest of the day… He pulled away, pecking her lips once more before slowly starting to walk backwards to the door, not taking his eyes off her, making her giggle as she followed after him, their hands still intertwined. He used his free hand to open the door behind him, slipping out the door and into the hall. He stopped on the opposite side of the threshold kissing her once more. There was something about this kiss though that was similar to the one earlier in the morning… Urgent, desperate, frenzied. It was like something, some unknown force, was compelling them to make this last final kiss before they departed count, to make it memorable, to make it arresting, and they did._

_When Bellamy pulled away, resting his forehead against hers and looking into her sparkling blue eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say good-bye, so he settled for a whispered, “I’ll be seeing you real soon Princess…” Before gently tearing himself from her arms, kissing her forehead softly, and leaving before he could convinced himself and her to abandon the plans they each had that day and just stay in bed together..._

The pitter-patter of rain drops hitting the glass in front of him, broke Bellamy out of his reverie. The weather had started out so calm, pleasant, and sunny earlier in the morning, but had quickly turned dull and grey with impending ominous storm clouds. Bellamy got lost in his thoughts again, the little smile playing at the corners of his mouth thinking how Clarke hadn’t questioned him about his scars or pushed him to share more than he was willing to… Just quietly accepting him and anything he told her about himself. She’d never pushed him on anything really, always just patiently waiting on him, whether it was waiting on him to get his act together and make a move, or waiting on him to feel okay to tell her things about himself he hadn’t really shared with anyone before. Then there was also the fact that he hadn’t had a nightmare… She was truly his guardian angel, even in sleep. He could hardly believe they were together… While they hadn’t talked about it or anything, he was pretty sure they were together. If he believed in luck, he’d think he was lucky, but he knew better… He was enormously blessed.

The sound of his office door clicking shut behind him had him turning to see Jake leaning on the closed door with his arms crossed, observing him carefully. Bellamy felt his whole face break out into a full blown grin. “Hey old man… A bit early aren’t you? It’s only…” He looked at his watch seeing it was only 10:34. “10:30 or so.” Bellamy finished starting to walk over to the older man. Jake met him half way, his arms dropping to clasp Bellamy in a man hug.

“So kid…” Jake said solemnly as they broke apart and walked back to the window behind Bellamy’s desk that he’d just been standing at. “Wanna tell me what’s up with this…” He said waving a hand at Bellamy’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Bellamy asked confused.

“You were smiling when I came into the room… What were you smiling about?” Jake asked patiently.

“Oh… Um…” Bellamy stuck his hands in his pockets. “Just happy to see you I guess.” He said shrugging.

Jake raised his eyebrows silently, calling bullshit. “Okay, okay…” Bellamy said with an eye roll. “I stayed the night at my girl’s place last night.” He said, that dreamy little smile slipping back onto his face involuntarily as he looked out over the raining city, thinking of that mornings activities once again.

Bellamy felt Jake’s whole body tensed beside him… He looked over in confusion to see Jake’s face go from red, to redder, to almost purple. “DID YOU SLEEP WITH HER?!?!?” He yelled, taking a step toward Bellamy, his whole body almost shaking in what Bellamy assumed was rage. Jake looked like he was about to strangle him.

“Uh… Y-yeah.” He stuttered confused, but quickly added a, “But not like that.” To the end, clarifying the situation after seeing Jake’s murderous face. Jake seemed to calm a bit at his words. “What the hell is going on with you?” Bellamy asked completely perplexed by the other man’s outburst. Why the hell was he so concerned about what he did with Clarke?

Jake sighed heavily, almost in relief or defeat, Bellamy couldn’t tell. Jake walked over to Bellamy’s desk, and sat down heavily on the edge, his shoulders slumping, definitely in defeat. “She’s my daughter.” He said hoarsely, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes wearily.

Bellamy’s stomach dropped to the floor. “What?” He croaked, his throat and mouth suddenly very dry. He felt like someone was crushing his lungs…

“Your girl… She’s my daughter…” Jake repeated, dropping his hands and glaring at Bellamy like he already knew this and was just playing stupid.

“No.” Bellamy whispered disbelievingly. “No.” He said firmer, thinking over everything that contradicted the older man’s words. “No, she is not your daughter.” Bellamy denied vehemently, narrowing his eyes to glare at his mentor. What the hell kind of game was he playing at? Was this some kind of tasteless joke?

“Kid… Think it through.” Jake implored fiercely.

“I am.” Bellamy spat back. “Your daughter’s name is Charlotte Griffin, and she lives in Seattle with you and your family. I don’t know what she looks like because you’ve never told me what she looks like or shown me a picture of her. Your daughter is an artist, like her brother. My girl’s name is _Clarke_ ” He emphasized her name. “Griffin. It’s a common enough last name. She lives here in New York City and works as a doctor over at Mount Sinai-”

“Bellamy!” Jake yelled, cutting the younger man off before he could go off on another tirade. “Think-” He said calmer, “Think back to the first time you and the guys came to visit me. Remember we had a beer on the back porch of the house I had just given you, and I told you what had happened to my daughter a couple of months after I first met and talked to you in that diner all those years ago… Think and remember what I said about her name…” He trailed off, looking at Bellamy with such sorrow. Sorrow Bellamy couldn’t understand until… Until the lost words from so long ago echoed in his ears haunting him…

_She had so many psychological scars after the whole ordeal. One of them was she hated people using her first name. She could tolerate Lottie from me, but that was it… Preferred for people to call her by her middle name. Still does actually._

“Her middle name…” He whispered disbelievingly. That was it… That was the key to everything, “What’s her middle name…” Bellamy asked lowly, in an emotionless voice, staring off blankly at something over Jake’s shoulder.

“… Clarke.” Jake said finally after a long hesitating pause that felt like it took hours instead of seconds.

Bellamy’s eyes flew shut as his heart started to pound painfully in his chest echoing through his ears… He stumbled with the force of the information, bracing himself against the window. His face twisting in agony as the one name reverberated painfully in his ears all the way down to his core.

“What about the other stuff…” He rasped, blearily blinking his eyes open to settle on Jake’s puzzled expression.

“Lottie is a doctor… She’s about 5’3, 5’4 maybe, blue eyes, blonde hair… She moved here almost three months ago…” Jake said calmly, factually, clinically…

Each statement felt like a nail in the coffin. All Bellamy could think was that she knew. She had to have known who he was all along… Jake knew him, and Bellamy knew Jake had to have mentioned his name at home once or twice… He’d had to have right? How could she have _not_ known? It was simple… She couldn’t. She had been playing him the whole time… Playing some twisted game pretending to have not known who he was…

Then again… All the signs were there, crystal clear for him to see, in regards to who she truly was. It never crossed his mind to ask her if Clarke was her first name or even where she had moved from… Bellamy mentally began to put all the puzzled pieces together, reconciling the Clarke Griffin he knew with Charlotte Clarke Griffin, the mob boss’s daughter.

The first time they’d met… She knew the guy used a suppressor, not to mention she ran _toward_ gun shots instead of away like any normal person. Clarke had a brother that looked nothing like her… But Charlotte had an adoptive brother, so that would explain the lack of similarities. Both women had a living mother and father and brother. He remembered how carefully Clarke worded her dad’s job and her blank expression while she said, _“He owns an engineering firm, and is in the import-export business_ ” … Damn that should have given the whole thing away right there. Import and export business was the classic mafia job description!!! His Clarke was an artist, and so was Charlotte. He hadn’t known Charlotte was a doctor, but he did know Abby was a doctor. Clarke told him the reason she wanted to become a doctor was because of her brothers ‘accident’ that he shouldn’t have survived but did because of her boss saving his life… That would have been the kidnapping. That also explained why she seemed so weary around male strangers… Not him or his guys though, which was odd. It also explained one major thing that had puzzled Bellamy from the very beginning… Her understanding. She never pushed him to talk or explain things more than he was willing to and she never questioned some of the odder things he did, and while that was one of the things he loved about her, he now knew why she was like that. It was because she too had something to hide, a big secret that she wanted to keep under wraps.

The real kick to the gut though Bellamy realize looking at Jake’s concerned face, was she looked like him… His Clarke had her father’s blonde hair and blue eyes… She had played him, and manipulated him into the whole thing, into loving her.

 _No she didn’t…_ His subconscious scolded him. _First off, you did that on your own dumbass, against my better judgement mind you. Second, she knows of the Rebel, but she doesn’t know you’re him… Remember the night after the grounders went down? She had no clue who he really was… I’d bet our large fortune on it._

Bellamy mentally strangled the little voice… Now was not the time for bullshit in the form of logic, he was having a crisis. Had she purposely sought him out when he was in a vulnerable position to worm her way in? Was Miller right when he suggested she could have her own agenda? He was right about her being Jake Griffin’s daughter. Bellamy just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that his sweet innocent Clarke, his princess, his angel, could deceive him like that, or even be the ruthless kick ass person Charlotte Griffin was legend and rumored to be.

He felt like he was going to be sick… He closed his eyes so he didn’t have to see the spinning room.

“You really didn’t know did you…?” Jake asked softly. Bellamy shook his head no. Jake sighed heavily. “I’m sorry kid.” Bellamy opened his eyes confused. “I’m sorry for yelling and breaking it to you like that… I thought you knew and-and…”

“And what?” Bellamy asked monotonously, his gaze cold and unfeeling.

“A were just using her and sleeping with her until you got your fill, and then was going kicking her to the curb like you did with those other girls.” He said looking down, ashamed of his negative thoughts.

“You have not listened to a single thing I have told you, have you…” Bellamy whispered menacingly, glaring daggers at the older man. “I told you I loved her… You, of all people, _know_ that word isn’t in my vocabulary.” Jake ran his hand through his hair restlessly, knowing the truth the younger man was speaking. “Besides, it turns out she’s the one that was scheming the whole time…” Bellamy murmured, his glare slipping away, as he turned to stare blankly out at the city, the pain in his chest growing as his thoughts took him to dark places.

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked confused, before a word Bellamy used stuck out like a sore thumb. “Loved? Loved as in past tense?” He asked with concern.

“She knew!” Bellamy roared, whipping around to face the stunned older man. “She knew who I was…” He continued in a more subdued voice, his voice breaking pitifully despite his attempts to keep it even. “She would have had to have known my name from you. She must have known from the beginning both my role in the mob and about my wealth… Why else would she have been with me?” Bellamy said lifelessly as he turned away from the older man, his worst fears confirmed it seemed. “I still love her… God help me, I still love her, and I have no idea why. I knew this was going to happen…”

Bellamy didn’t hear, see, or feel the older man stand and march over to him until Jake grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “She doesn’t know who you are kid…” He said fiercely, clutching both of Bellamy’s shoulders so tightly, Bellamy briefly wondered if they’d bruise. “I have never told her your name, for the same reason you’ve never seen a picture of her, gotten a physical description of what she looks like, or a job description. For protection… She could never give a name that would identify the Rebel, just like you could never put a face with a name for Charlotte Griffin, or tell anyone what she does for a living. I was protecting both your secrets in the event something bad happened… No one outside my family and a select few others know what she looks like and her relation to me and the Family, and I have made great sacrifices to keep it that way so she could be safe, and never be used against me in anyway. She has no idea you’re the Rebel. Do you hear me son?” Jake asked shaking Bellamy lightly, seeing as how he was lost in the overwhelming relief he was feeling. _She doesn’t know… She doesn’t know…_ He chanted over in his head.

“Yeah…” He said stunned. If she didn’t know, that meant she was about to find out when she showed up. What if she took the news and revelation worse than he does, or God forbid thinks like he did, that he knew who she was the whole time?

“Now,” Jake continued, “If my daughter _is_ with you, you should already know it’s not only because she feels safe with you, but because she likes the person you are on the inside, not your last name or money, and if you ever insinuate she is like that again, I’ll pistol whip your ass into the next century…”

Bellamy gulped and nodded, not only because Jake was using his ‘Boss’ voice, but because he _did_ know she wasn’t like that at all. It was one of the things he loved about her most. “Now I’ve got to give you the ‘If you hurt her’ speech…” Jake said with a grin making Bellamy gulp again… He was after all talking to his girl’s father… This was weird. He let go of Bellamy’s shoulders and took a step back grinning. “I can’t believe I get to finally use this…” He said almost to himself.

“Wait…” Bellamy said confused. “You haven’t used it before?” He questioned. Surely Clarke must have had boyfriends…

“Nope.” Jake said shrugging. “Never actually met any of the guys she was in a relationship with… She never brought ‘em home for whatever reason, and as long as it wasn’t real serious, and the background check came back clean, I was fine with that. I hated her dating and getting boyfriends, but I had to let her grow up at some point, so I made sure I had rules laid out that she followed. I would have murdered whomever crossed my threshold anyhow. I had a hard enough time keeping my cool as it was, knowing she was seeing someone, without having to actually see her with him or meet whomever the little bastard was. I got to say, I never thought it would be you with her… I actually don’t have the urge to kill you.” Jake mused.

“Am I getting your blessing?” Bellamy asked grinning a little at the thought.

“Sure kid… Just know if you hurt her, I’ll cut you.” He said simply and to the point. The threat actually meant a lot to Bellamy… Very touching really. Bellamy nodded.

“What, no death threat, or threatening to shoot me?” Bellamy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jake shook his head. “Nah, the threatening to shoot you will come from Lincoln, and Lottie will kill you herself if you hurt her.” Bellamy nodded impressed, but not quite believing. Clarke wouldn’t hurt him, at least he didn’t think she would. That was all beside the point anyway, because he’d never do or say anything to hurt her, he loved her too much and he’d vowed a long time ago to never be the cause of her pain or let her get hurt.

“We got to go…” Bellamy said looking at his watch. It was almost 11. Jake stopped him though.

“Are we good?” He questioned holding a hand out.

“Yeah old man… We’re good.” Bellamy said clasping the hand and giving him a half hug. “By the way… Was my secretary outside?” Bellamy asked innocently before opening the door.

“No…” Jake shook his head as they walked out of Bellamy’s office together. Bellamy noticed Roma sitting at her desk again.

“Where were you Miss Lewis?” Bellamy asked coldly. _Please say something stupid…_ Bellamy mentally begged. She had been on her best behavior after the one-month mark, so Bellamy hadn’t had any grounds to fire her ass, but he was looking for ANY reason to fire her… Literally anything. Doesn’t have a pen when he needs one? Fired. Doesn’t answer the phone within two rings? Fired. Coffee cold? FIRED. She just rubbed him the wrong way. Something about her had him on edge, and while he had no evidence of any legitimate wrong doing, he was suspicious. He’d just rather she be gone.

“I was setting up the conference room, sir.” She said promptly. Bellamy cursed under his breath loud enough for Jake to hear and chuckle.

“Go put on a new pot of coffee and then go home.” He said gruffly, noticing that there was another occupant in the room. Roma scrambled to do as she was told, leaving the room, and Bellamy was slightly disappointed… No backtalk or buts? He could have fired her for that, but she was being a freaking good employee! Was it really too much to ask that she messed up? She did a lot of that in the beginning, so why couldn’t she do that now? Where were the horrible employees when you needed ‘em?

Bellamy’s focus was back on the small, short older woman with light brown hair and brown eyes that sat in the waiting-reception area by the elevator. This lady he knew because her daughter looked a lot like her… Doctor Abigail Griffin, or better known as the Wicked Bitch of the West. At least now he could put a face to the name he loathed so much. He shifted away from Jake, so they were standing farther apart.

She had a deep scowl on her face while looking at something on her phone. Jake cleared his throat, drawing attention to them standing there. Her head snapped up to Jake as she clicked off her phone… The scowl lessened minutely as she stood and walked over to him hissing lowly, “They are late.”

Jake sighed and rolled his eyes… “Yes dear… They are late.” He said in a placating tone making her glare sharpen. “Let them be.” He said firmly, matching her glare. Bellamy watched in fascination as she backed down huffing out a, “Fine.” She turned her witchy brown eyes on him and looked him right in the eye.

Her whole face paled, and she raised a trembling hand up to her throat… She cleared it nervously after a moment, obviously having trouble swallowing. He could see she was trying to look away from the eye contact, but couldn’t seem to bring herself to. Her sense finally returned to her, and she realized she’d been practically gawking at him “Uh… Hello. I’m sorry I just… You look like someone I used to know a long time ago…” She said mumbling sadly while gazing at him, before her face visibly hardened, and she mentally shook herself out of her stupor. She straightened up and put on an emotionless expression.

Bellamy hummed in response to her greeting, his face a careful mask of cold indifference so he didn’t give away the disgust he felt for the woman, and stuck his hands in his pockets in case she got the idea to shake hands… He wasn’t doing that. Just… No. After several uncomfortable moments, Bellamy moved to Roma’s desk, thinking of calling his father to see why he and Vanessa weren’t there yet, but suddenly the elevator dinged, interrupting both the awkward silence that had fallen over the three people and the furtive glances that Abby kept sending him… What a strange woman. Looks like he’d just been saved by the bell…

The doors swooshed open to reveal… Clarke and her brother, Lincoln, in a heated discussion. Bellamy felt the air leave his lungs… It was real. Holy shit, it was real. Up to this very moment he had clung to the hope that Jake was just punking him and people were going to be jumping out with cameras any minute, but that didn’t seem to be the case, because there was his princess wearing a tight pencil skirt, and a long sleeve white blouse made out of some silky material. She had on these sky high black four heels that had Bellamy practically drooling while also wondering how she could both stand and walk in what were surely torture devices for her feet. Bellamy couldn’t help the smirk, looking at how she still looked ridiculously short compared to the hulk of a man her brother was, standing right beside her. Her hair was put up in this fancy French twist… She was simply a vision. Who knew that this woman who wore scrubs and loved shorts more than anything could pull off the hot seductive secretary look… Just simply, damn.

Lincoln was wearing a black suit similar to Bellamy and Jake’s. As Bellamy watched, Lincoln rolled his eyes fondly at whatever his sister was obviously chastising him for. Lincoln steered her in the in the direction of their parents standing outside Bellamy’s office with a hand on her lower back. Clarke had yet to look up and see them, still firmly scolding her brother. Bellamy could see from where he was standing, her cheeks were flushed in anger… He could practically see her blue eyes shooting sparks.

As they approached, Bellamy noticed Lincoln wincing as he moved, and occasionally reaching his free hand up to hold his ribs. He had a nasty black eye and some faint bruising along his jaw that looked like he tried to cover it up with concealer… Shoddy patch up work though. Bellamy could tell he was rushed when he did it. Bellamy knew ALL about that life. He couldn’t count the number of times he had to cover a bruise or black eye so his grandmother didn’t notice and lecture him to death about being more careful… He usually got away with it 2 out of 5 times. Not the best of odds really, but, whatever. As both siblings neared their parents, he could here Clarke speaking…

“-believe you tried to hide it from me like I wouldn’t notice the shiner on you face the size of a watermelon… You said the handlebars did that? I want to know why the heck you weren’t wearing a helmet. Jesus! Are you trying to get yourself killed dumbass? I am a doctor for goodness sake… I’ve dealt with people scraped off the asphalt after motorcycle accidents. You’re lucky to have gotten away with just a few cracked or broken ribs, a concussion and several bruises and cuts. I should make you-”

“Hi dad and mom…” Lincoln said loudly, cutting his sister off. Bellamy shivered at the intensity of Clarke’s frosty glare directed right at her brother, he was terrified _for_ Lincoln, but the large man seemed unaffected by the hole being drilled into the side of his head by his fierce sister. God she was so hot when she was angry or fired up. _Focus Blake… You quite possibly will be on the receiving end of that glare here in a minute._ His subconscious warned. Bellamy watched, fascinated, as Clarke reached up and pinched the skin right behind the taller man’s ear. Hard. He saw her hand shake a little with the force she was exerting.

“Ow!!” The large man howled, trying to swipe her hand away, but it was already gone back at her side, as she smirked smugly at him. “Motherfu-” He started rubbing the skin trying to get rid of the sting.

“Lincoln!!” His parents barked at the same time in warning before he could finish the offensive word.

“-trucker!” Lincoln covered. “I was going to say mother-trucker…” He said in a sulky voice before glaring at Clarke. “That hurt Bug.” He rumbled accusingly.

“Shouldn’t interrupt people then, huh, Bear? Or ride motorcycles without a helmet…” She fired back. “If you weren’t already hurt, I’d take you to the mats…” She said in a low, threatening voice. Bellamy didn’t miss the way Lincoln’s face paled a bit.

“Children…” Jake said in an exasperated voice, as Bellamy slowly inched his way toward the group. “Behave.” He said sternly, although Bellamy didn’t miss the sympathetic look he passed to Lincoln. Both men had some kind of silent exchange that Bellamy didn’t understand, but knew was serious. Lincoln went back to glaring at Clarke.

“Yes sir…” They both mumbled, still glaring at each other, Lincoln rubbing his neck soothingly.

“Hi daddy…” Clarke said breaking the glaring contest with her brother and coming forward to kiss her father’s cheek. She looked at her mother, who was back to scowling, and nodded her head in greeting with a simple, “Mother.”

By then Bellamy had joined the group once more, and he watched in amusement as Clarke turned to him, saying a quick, “Hey Bell…” with a warm smile, before her eyes went back to her dad saying, “So dad where is this…” She stopped again, her eyes swinging back to Bellamy, and widening almost comically. He could practically see her mind go _“Oh Shit.”_

“Bellamy?” She said squeaked out. “What-What are you doing here?” She said almost nervously, and looked back to her family who was watching the interaction intently… Jake in amusement, Lincoln and Abby in confusion.

“Uh… I work here.” Bellamy started out feebly, not even having the slightest clue of what to say. Irony suddenly hit him full force. His princess was an actual princess… A mafia princess. She was literally mafia royalty.

She had yet to look at him again, instead, her eyes rested coolly on her father, whose blank expression gave nothing away. As Bellamy watched, Clarke’s expression went from nervous to confused and fearful to suspicious before settling on a wary, cautious look that he’d only seen on her face a few times before.

“What are _we_ doing _here_ dad?” She questioned slowly, carefully, putting special emphasis on some of her words, not taking her eyes off her father.

“We’re here for a meeting Charlotte.” Her mother said annoyed with an eye-roll. Bellamy’s trained eye picked up Clarke’s barely there flinch at being called Charlotte. “Honestly it’s like your ignorant or something. Are you deaf or suffering from some sort of memory loss we don’t know about?” She said antagonizing her daughter further.

“I. Wasn’t. Talking to. You.” Clarke bit out, not even looking at her mother, still staring down her father. Bellamy saw Lincoln glare at Abby for her interruption and harsh words. Clarke repeated her question, “What are we doing here and who are we meeting DAD?” Emphasizing who she was talking to.

Jake said nothing, just studying his daughter as her gaze slipped into a glare. She leaned forward and hissed in French, “ _If you told him who we are, I swear I will never forgive you._ ” Bellamy guessed she either had no idea he could speak French, or she automatically slipped into a foreign language when angry like he did.

“I don’t have to tell him who we are… It’s not him we’re meeting.” Jake said cryptically, eyeing Bellamy, waiting for the younger man to jump in with an explanation or whatever he was going to say, but still Bellamy stayed silent and said nothing, practically frozen in place. Clarke’s eyes flickered back and forth between her father and Bellamy.

“Dad, what the hell are we doing here?!” She asked as a little panic crept into her voice at not having gotten an answer to her question. “Are we meeting Bellamy’s boss? Is that who we’re here to see? I don’t understand!” She said distressed.

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked confused. “Bellamy’s boss?” He questioned.

“Yeah, his workaholic bo-…” She stopped speaking as her eyes caught something behind Bellamy and Jake. “ _Blake_ Global Enterprises?” She whispered confused. “I don’t… You’re the boss?” She asked her eyes turning on Bellamy. “You own the company, this company?”

Bellamy nodded after a moments pause. “Why… Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked, hurt lacing her voice. Lincoln immediately stepped forward to her side, and slipped a hand on her back… A comforting gesture that had Clarke relaxing her tense stance slightly.

“I tried to tell you to look me up. I didn’t know how to tell you after you already thought I was just an important employee…” He said truthfully, albeit a bit feebly. He really hadn’t known how to tell her after realizing she wouldn’t care what he did, how much money he made, or that he actually owned his own company… Once he’d realized all of that, it had been too late to go back and tell her without seeming like he was lying or deceiving her.

“I only thought that because you and your grandmother told me so.” She said heatedly. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath… He could practically see her counting to ten in her head before she spoke again. “That still doesn’t explain why we’re here…” She mumbled before opening her eyes. “If we’re not here to meet with Bellamy, the owner of this company...” She said with a pointed look at Bellamy, promising they were going to have words later, before turning back to her father. “Then who are we meeting, and why the hell am I even here?” She questioned. Bellamy got the sense that Jake not only didn’t tell Clarke who they were meeting with, but the reason behind the meeting which did NOT bode well for anyone… He was about 92.7% sure Firecracker/Royally Pissed/Terrifying Clarke was fixing to make another appearance, and while she was hot as hell, again, she was terrifying. He had enough self-preservation, and he was secure enough in his manhood to admit the little blonde was frightening when she was mad.

“We’re here to meet the Don of another crime family.” Jake said casually blunt, when it was obvious Bellamy wasn’t going to just come out with who he really was and his involvement in the criminal underworld.

“Dad!” She said outraged at her father’s blatant honesty in front of someone she thought was an innocent bystander to their life. “Watch what you say!” She snapped, her eyes flickering to Bellamy briefly, concern showing in her eyes. Bellamy knew what was going through her mind… People who were innocents that knew specific things about their life like faces, names, and crimes were loose ends. Loose ends were dangerous and completely forbidden. Loose ends were usually tied up with a bullet between the eyes, marriage to a full-fledged member who agreed to the nuptials, or joining up. “And once a-freaking-gain I ask what. The hell. Are. WE. Doing here?” She kept talking though, slipping into French once again, but this time, Bellamy knew it was on purpose. “ _If you’re going to tell me he…”_ She said gesturing to Bellamy. “ _Is a mob boss, I won’t believe you. He doesn’t know anything about me, this life, or any of you, so don’t get him involved! Please… If you put his life in danger, I will never be able to forgive you, look at you, or speak to you again. I’m dead serious… I will kill everyone who comes after him because you slipped up and told him who we are.”_ She hissed. Bellamy’s whole body unfroze at her words. She was ready to kill for him? To keep him safe? While he loved the sentiment, he hated the thought of her having to kill someone or being put in danger.

“I didn’t tell him anything…” Jake said, repeating his earlier sentiment. He sighed heavily. “Look, Damian Collins and his wife, Vanessa, should be here soon, and then we’ll be able to leave after I meet and talk with him about something important…” Jake said, giving enough information to clue Clarke in on what was going on and do damage, but not enough for her to get the big picture… No mention of what the meeting was for, what her role was, nothing. That was going to bite him in the ass later, Bellamy could guarantee it.

“Collins?” Clarke said taken back. “As in Amelia Collins?” She questioned faintly.

Jake’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, that’s Damian’s mother. How do you know Amelia?” He questioned watching his daughter in concern as she paled white as a fresh blanket of snow.

“Other than knowing her from the church I go to here, she’s-she’s B-Bellamy’s grandmother.” Clarke said. Bellamy noticed her eyes begin to dart around wildly, as if looking for an exit or some way out and away from the realizations and feeling creeping up on her… She seemed unable to look at anyone. Her hands began to tremble at her sides until she clenched them into fists. Her breathing accelerated marginally, but noticeably. Bellamy knew she was putting everything together… The names and faces, the people in his life, his odd behavior at times, his family, the bits of his history that he’d shared with her… Suddenly she stilled as the last piece clicked into place. Her wide disbelieving blue eyes flew up to his brown ones and locked.

“Who are you?” She demanded lowly in a chilling voice that had ice racing up his spine. She knew the answer to her own question, he knew she did, but like him, she wouldn’t be able to believe it until he himself confirmed it. Bellamy was once again frozen… He couldn’t seem to open his suddenly very dry mouth to respond to her question. His eyes though, his eyes said sorry. Sorry for not knowing. Sorry for missing the signs. Sorry for everything that was fixing to happen, even though he wasn’t quite sure what was fixing to happen other than her meeting his father and step-monster. Just sorry for everything really… He didn’t know if she could understand the sorrow in his gaze, but he hoped she could.

“Lottie,” Her father interjected gently, as if talking to a skittish animal. She smarted at the sound of his voice, but didn’t look away from Bellamy. “The only reason I wanted you to be here was to meet my… protégé I guess you could say, Bellamy ‘The Rebel’ Blake, Underboss of the Collins Crime Family. This is one of Damian Collins’ sons. It’s obvious you two already know each other though.” He finished a bit ruefully. Clarke’s eyes closed as her face twisted into one of immense pain hearing her father’s words. Her eyes opened after a moment, and Bellamy was taken aback. Just like that day at the zoo, her eyes were no longer the light sky blue color he loved so much, but a translucent light blue-grey color. It was truly mesmerizing how her eyes changed color with her mood.

“You knew?” She asked weakly. “You were using me?”

Bellamy quickly shook his head. He couldn’t let her thoughts go down the dark path his had… Thinking he’d played her and used her somehow. He felt guilty enough thinking those things about her, and he didn’t want her feeling that same guilt. He quickly took the two steps separating them and grabbed her elbows. The wave of relief he felt when she didn’t step away from him could not be understated. Making sure she was looking at him, he spoke. “I didn’t know until your dad told me in my office a few minutes ago. I swear…” He pledged, thinking he was going to have to convince her more or plead his case to her… No way would she just believe him, right? She would be mad he kept this from her, right? She’d pull away from him and would want nothing to do with him now that she knew, RIGHT? Except she did none of that… She let out a relieved breath he didn’t know she’d been holding and seemed to relax right under his intense gaze.

“Okay… I believe you.” She breathed quietly, her eyes never wavering from his, with a little nod that had Bellamy’s stomach flipping, because this was _his_ Clarke. The one who was vulnerable and adorable, and oh so trusting of him and everything he did and said. Before he knew it, she was in his arms hugging him tightly. Bellamy hugged her back just as fiercely, aware of the audience to their little heartfelt moment. He looked up over her head to see Lincoln and Abby staring at them stunned while Jake looked on with an indulgent proud smile. Abby’s face slowly morphed into an expression of disgust… And then something occurred to him. Something he’d said.

Bellamy quickly leaned down and whispered quietly, urgently in Clarke’s ear, so she was the only one to hear, “I may have bad mouthed your mom to your dad… Accidentally.” He said pulling back to look down at her amused face.

“What? When? What did you say?” She asked gleefully, delighting in his words.

“Ugh… Thursday night?” He asked sheepishly. “I just said, unknowingly mind you, that… _it_ ” Bellamy said substituting _‘it’_ in for her mother’s name. _“_ was a real piece of work, and I hoped I never had to meet _it_. Obviously that didn’t happen.” He said with an annoyed eye roll that had Clarke snickering. The room’s other three occupants were watching their exchange intently… Jake with a knowing glower, Abby with a suspicious scowl, and Lincoln with an annoyed clueless expression.

“I haven’t forgotten, kid…” Jake said warningly to Bellamy, but was saved once again by the ding of the elevator. Bellamy quickly separated from Clarke, not wanting his father to know of their involvement. He discreetly shook his head at Clarke’s questioning look, silently telling her not to say anything, and watched as she nodded her understanding.

Information was power… He’d learned that at a very early age, and he didn’t want anyone to use Clarke against him or in any way at all for that matter, so he made the decision to remain quiet. He trusted his father… To an extent. Bellamy didn’t think the man was above using his relationship with Clarke, whatever that status was, to get what he wanted from Jake. As for Vanessa, well, he didn’t know if she even knew the definition of the word trust, or loyalty for that matter. No way in hell did he trust her. Revealing any hint of the strong emotions that they felt for each other was oh so dangerous for Bellamy and Clarke for way too many reasons to count… Mainly because it painted a target on Clarke’s back as someone he cared about, and he had enemies… Lots of enemies. The sad part was, all of his greatest threats and foes came from inside his supposed family… And public enemy number one just stepped off the elevator with his father.

Damian and Vanessa Collins stepped out of the elevator looking the perfect picture of a married business couple… His father in a suit and his step-monster in a pants suit with blood red heals, lips, and handbag. Bellamy felt himself cringe just being in her presence. As Bellamy watched, he noticed his father stop walking, eyes flickering over everyone, coming to rest on Clarke for a beat. He turned his head and spoke lowly to Vanessa for a moment, before she grinned wickedly and nodded at whatever he was saying, her eyes on Clarke. Clarke’s expression was one of cool indifference as she watched the couple obviously talking about her, not showing one morsel of the unease and agitation she surely must have been feeling. In fact, her face was so cold and closed off, Bellamy could hardly stand to look at her. He didn’t know this person… Then it suddenly dawned on him. This was Charlotte Griffin, the daughter of a feared mob boss. He really _didn’t_ know this person. Bellamy felt his throat tighten, from what, he didn’t know… Anxiety maybe?

Vanessa popped open her hand bag, and slipped out her phone, before turning and walking back to the elevator. She pressed the button, typing on her phone and waited for the doors to open. At that moment, Roma scurried around the corner, grabbed her purse from beneath her desk and rushed to the elevator as the doors were opening. Both women stepped in and nodded at each other politely as their eyes lingered on each other in some type of recognition that Bellamy didn’t understand, but before Bellamy could think, the doors closed and his father moved forward to greet their guests.

“Jake, my old friend…” Damian said, embracing Jake warmly. “Sorry for being late… Darn woman couldn’t pick the right outfit she wanted. How have you been?”

“Can’t complain…” Jake said with a grin before Damian turned to Abby, smiling almost bittersweetly at her, as though looking at her reminded him of someone. He shook her hand, never saying a word to her.

Jake stepped forward and introduced Lincoln first, and then Clarke. Damian was polite with Lincoln, but once Clarke was introduced, she held his sole attention.

“So this is her…” He murmured, almost as though he were speaking to himself. His gaze roamed over her hungrily as though he was inspecting her for some grotesque deformity or some unsightly freakish scar… Something to explain why she was hidden so voraciously for so long and why she had so many rumors speaking of hideous looks. There were none of course… Bellamy thought everything about her was perfect. “I have been waiting to meet you. I expected you to be taller…” He said a bit abruptly.

Clarke nodded thoughtfully for a moment. “Funny… I never actually cared to meet you, but…” She paused momentarily, her eyes flickering to where Bellamy was standing, her eyes holding his. “I guess it was inevitable.” She finished lowly still looking at him before her eyes went back to holding Damian’s curious gaze. Bellamy knew what was going through her head… If this whole encounter had never happened, she would have still met his father eventually due to the fact that meeting the family comes with being in a serious relationship, which is where they were headed. Although… If things had gone according to Bellamy’s plan, Damian may have only learned his oldest child was in a relationship after they’d been married for a couple of years with a kid on the way. Bellamy mentally bitch slapped himself… Hard. _No kids… We don’t do kids._ His subconscious hisses at him viciously. _No chick will ever change that… GET A GRIP MAN!!_

Damian gave the couple a confused stare before going back to inspecting Clarke. Bellamy was positively confused… What the hell was his father doing?

“Jake,” His father started, looking at the other man. “Let’s go into the conference room and discuss some business. Bring your lovely wife. Vanessa will be joining us as soon as she finishes her phone call. Son, keep our guests entertained huh…” He finished looking at Bellamy who nodded, barely holding back the massive eye roll that would surely cause his eyes to get stuck in the back of the head. What the hell was he, a circus monkey?

Jake nodded agreeably to Damian’s request, and the two men plus Abby disappeared down the hall leaving Clarke, Lincoln, and Bellamy to themselves. No one said anything for a moment before Lincoln gave a friendly smile and stuck his large hand out for a handshake, saying, “It’s great to meet you man… I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Bellamy immediately liked the other man… He had a quiet, reserved air about him, so different from the open brother he was just minutes ago, but still giving off the vibes of being an easy-going, amiable person. His eyes were warm and kind like his sister, and they instantly had Bellamy at ease and relaxed.

“Same.” Bellamy said grinning and shaking his hand. “It was you who handled those Japanese assailants a couple years ago right?” Bellamy asked curiously still gripping the man’s hand in a handshake.

“Yeah, me and my guy, Wick.” Lincoln said, nodding once, like his sister did, before shrugging casually as if taking out eight rogue fully trained Yakuza enforcers between two men was nothing. It was no small feat, of that Bellamy was sure. “I heard you and your crew took out that whole Pakistani car theft ring, right? What the hell happened with that? I heard there was, like… A potato cannon or something?” He asked keenly, eager for the story. Bellamy drooped their handshake, and grinned.

“Yeah that was us… What was I supposed to do when a couple of unskilled thugs, trying to play the big bad gangsters, jump me to steal my car?” Bellamy said grinning wider, remembering the fun they’d all had with that job. Bellamy’s grin was infectious, causing Lincoln to smile bigger… “So, I was originally over in the UK to acquire a small technology company that had some brilliant patents I wanted. Well the Albanians had a kill contract out on some rogue German black market dealer. We had intel he was hiding out in the UK at some heavily guarded compound, and decided to fulfill the contract and get paid by them while also stealing back several valuable items that the guy had previously acquired over the span of his life. My crew was with me, and I had bought three new black Range Rovers for the con and to just get around in general. We were in the middle of the job, and seeing as how I was the bait, I took off by myself in one of the cars to lead the bulk of the guards away so the guys could break into the compound, kill the remaining guards, load up the swag, and kill the German before meeting at the rendezvous point. All was going according to plan, and I’d gotten rid of the guards fairly quickly, so I was the first one at the rendezvous point out in the middle of nowhere… Next thing I know, I’ve got three guys jumping out of a black van packing semi-automatics, yelling in Urdu. They grab me, and search me, throwing my two Glocks, into the van behind them. Then they demand I hand over the keys, speaking in English. I was like ‘Hell nah’ and pulled my eagle that they’d missed when searching me, bunch of morons. I aimed and shot the first guy in the head, while the other two scrambled back into the van seeing as how I not only had a gun, but could obviously use it very well… They didn’t even fire off one round of the guns they had in their hands, bunch of stupid little pricks. By this point, I was pissed, not because they were trying to steal my car, but because they were doing such a shitty job at it. They go to haul ass out of there, but by then, my guys had pulled up and barricaded them in. They get out firing at the van, tires and such, and killed the driver so they weren’t going anywhere. Finally, the remaining two guys realize they’ve got guns too and jump out of the van waving them around like mad men yelling for us to get back. I start yelling for my guys to get back too, not wanting them to get shot if they opened fire, and so they start ducking and jumping behind vehicles. Just pure craziness…” Bellamy exclaimed. “Then one of the guys realized I was the leader, and aimed his semi-automatic pistol right at me, while the other guy was aiming at my guys who had their guns trained on them. I had my gun up and aimed on the guy that was going to shoot me, so we were at a standstill really. Stood there for maybe 30 seconds before out of know where there’s a loud boom and the guy in front of me is brained by a potato...” He said grinning wickedly while Lincoln doubled over in laughter, clasping Bellamy’s shoulder to steady himself.

“How-How- I don’t even…” Lincoln chocked out between fits of laughter.

“Yeah…” Bellamy laughed with the other man. “Jasper was taking some engineering class at the time, and a major project of theirs was to build a potato cannon that was small, lightweight, and used propane compared to the average homemade one that was bulky and used hairspray. Jasper, the natural procrastinator that he is put the whole thing off ‘til the last minute, and had to bring it with him on the trip to work on because Monty refused to help him and end up doing all the work, like usual. Monty was actually pissed after the fact that he’d already built his high-powered marshmallow shooter, and didn’t bring it with him. I couldn’t tell you why Jasper had the damn thing with him, but knowing him, he was looking for a window to get to use it, and well… He got the opportunity alright. He literally blew the guy away with a friggin’ potato. The whole thing was a bloody mess… Potato for brains knocked the other guy to the ground when he fell, and he knocked his head pretty hard, so he was out like a light. After that, we just interrogated him and started taking people out until we got all the way to top of the local branch of the Pakistani mafia.” Bellamy shrugged.

“I have to meet them…” Lincoln said avidly. “I’ve heard so much about you guys, it’s crazy… I feel like I already know you all.” He said smiling.

“Same here man… We’ll go get a beer after this whole thing is done, swap war stories and such. I’ll invite the guys over, not like they have anything else interesting going on.” Bellamy said jovially, happy the other man had loosened up a bit.

“Oh my God…” Clarke breathed, looking between the two men as they laughed and shared anecdotes like old friends. “They’re getting along… Actually getting along. I can almost _see_ the bromance igniting.” She whispered to herself fearfully, eyes wide with alarm. “Do you two want a room?” She asked louder, drawing the attention of both men to the small blonde gazing at them with wide eyes.

Bellamy didn’t say anything, biting his cheek to keep his laughter in… She looked so annoyed at being left out, it was completely amusing. Lincoln just chuckled, saying, “Don’t be jealous Bug… You can come too.” He reached his hand out, like he was going to muss her hair, but stopped short seeing her glare and raise her hand threateningly with her thumb and index finger hovering together, only an inch or so separating them.

“Touch the hair that took me longer to fix than any other part of getting ready, and I will pinch you so hard, you’ll have permanent muscle and nerve damage Mr. Boflex Man. Got it?” She said threateningly.

“Okay, okay!! So hostile…” Lincoln said with amused disproval. “And I know how long you took with your hair, because that’s the reason we were late!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault!! He slept late!” She said outraged, pointing at Bellamy.

“WHAT?!” Lincoln yelled, his face reddening with rage. “He stayed over last night?” He asked glaring daggers at Bellamy. Bellamy noticed his hand twitching, itching to get his gun he was sure.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Bellamy said raising his hands in a placating manner. “We did sleep together… but not like that. Purely platonic…” He said, watching Lincoln’s whole tense frame relax and let out a relieved breath. In any other situation, Bellamy would have found the resemblance in mannerisms and traits between Jake and Lincoln extremely funny… In fact, Bellamy was planning to crack a joke to lighten the other man up further. That is, until he heard Clarke murmur, “For now.” While digging in her black clutch for something.

Bellamy gaped at her wide eyed, silently praying Lincoln, HER BROTHER, didn’t hear her words. She looked up and saw him staring at her slack-jawed, before ginning at him cheekily and giving him a saucy little wink that had him dizzy for a moment. Damn, she was _so_ fine… And she was all his… And she was going to get him shot…

“That’s it… You’re a dead man.” Lincoln muttered going for his gun at his back… Except he twisted or moved the wrong way, and flinched hard, his hand immediately going to his side clutching at his ribs, as he closed his eyes, clenched his jaw tightly, and grimaced in pain. Bellamy was starting to get a sinking suspicion that the other man hadn’t injured himself in a motorcycle accident like he claimed. _Something’s not right…_ His subconscious whispered, and for once, Bellamy agreed with the little voice.

“Stop it dummy.” Clarke snapped, immediately at her brother’s side checking him over to see if he injured himself further. It was so fascinating to watch Clarke and Lincoln interact… The close bond they had was oh so evident in the care and concern they displayed toward one another. It was clear to see the love that they had for each other as Clarke worried and fussed over him, practically begging him to be more careful, while Lincoln was quick to surrender, agreeing to be careful and assuring her she had no reason to worry, that he was fine. Truly amazing to watch… He’d never witnesses anything like it to be honest. Siblings usually grew up hating each other… At least that’s what he knew and presumed from his own experiences. As Lincoln was promising her he was fine, Bellamy heard the elevator ding signaling Vanessa was back.

As the doors swished open, the she-devil herself stepped out. Clarke and Lincoln stopped talking and stepped apart, both wearing identical masks of cold indifference. As she neared them, her eyes automatically honed in on Bellamy, she sneered as she walked past, “Why if it isn’t my step-horror.”

Bellamy’s impassive face broke into his signature cock smirk… The one he was practically famous for. “Good to see you too Van-Skeezy… Quick question, how long did it take you to come up with that swipe, because let me tell you… It was almost good.”

She shot him a scathing glare and huffed self-righteously, continuing past them down the hall, headed in the direction of the conference room.

When she was out of hearing range, Lincoln turned to Bellamy and Clarke. “Is it just me, or does Ursula give you guys the heebie-jeebies too? ‘Cus I’m positively freaked the hell out over here.” He said as he cringed and shuddered, almost as though he was trying to shake the creepy off… Bellamy could relate.

“Yeah, I get what you mean… It’s all the Botox.” Bellamy said casually, shrugging. “But you’ve got the wrong villain dude… She’s Cruella, not Ursula. The minute the temperature drops, she brings out her warehouse full of fur coats, I’m not even lying, not to mention the theme song for Cruella fits her perfectly… I, personally, call her Cruella de Bitch.”

Lincoln and Clarke looked at him for a beat, before they both promptly busted out laughing. “What?” Bellamy asked in mock outrage as they continued laughing, Lincoln clutching his ribs, but the pain not being a deterrent from laughing. “It’s true…” He muttered in a serious voice.

“Oh, that’s great…” Clarke wheezed out, as Lincoln’s laughter subsided into chuckles.

The sound of a cell phone ringing filtered into the room and Bellamy watched as Lincoln, still snickering, reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled his phone out looking at the screen for a moment, before focusing back on Clarke and Bellamy, a grin in place on his face. “I’ve got to get this, it’s Wick. I told the lazy lug to call me when he got up… Should have known he wouldn’t get up ‘til 9 AM.” He said apologetically, with a fond eye-roll.

“Nah, your good man.” Bellamy said waving him off.

“Tell him I said hi, and to tell Raven that I’ll call her later.” Clarke said. Lincoln nodded before moving away to accept the call.

When he was far enough away and safely talking on the phone, Bellamy decided to take advantage of the quiet moment he and Clarke had alone. He quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, drawing her to him and into his protective embrace. It took him a moment to adjust and get used to her new taller height with her high heels on… It was strange to say the least, because he’d always loved how short she was, and now the top of her head was at his jaw line.

When he recovered from his thoughts, his hands wrapped around her small waist, securing her smaller body to his much larger one, her hands automatically came to rest on his chest under his unbuttoned suit jacket. She had her little purse thingy tucked under one of her arms, and one of her hands began to fiddle with the tag on the underside of his tie. She didn’t look up at him, focusing intently on her hands on his chest… He had a feeling she was purposely avoiding eye contact, and he didn’t like it, not one bit. She was suspiciously quiet… Well, too quiet for her anyway.

He watched her for a moment, silently willing her to look up at him. _Let me see those gorgeous baby blues…_ He silently pleaded with her. As if she could hear him, she lifted her head, blue eyes clashing with brown. While she was warm, and relaxed in his arms, her eyes… Her eyes told a different story. They were completely closed off from him. For the life of him, he couldn’t get a read on her, which had never really happened before. He could always tell what she was thinking or feeling, but now as he searched her eyes, he could find none of that and that fact scared the living daylights out of him.

“Are you mad with me?” He whispered, unconsciously holding her tighter. That was the only conclusion he could come up with for the distance she was displaying towards him. Her eyebrows furrowed in that adorable way she did when she was confused. “Are you mad about finding out who I am? That I own my own company? Anything?” He both clarified and prompted.

She gently shook her head no, before speaking in such a meek small voice, he had a hard time fathoming it was coming from her. “No I’m not mad… I could never be mad at you. I know you didn’t know who I was, and didn’t want to tell me about your own ‘Family’ obligations because you wanted to protect me and keep me safe... Are- Are you mad or-or revolted by me now that you know the truth?” She asked, her eyes slipping back down to his chest, not bearing to be able to look at him and see the answer in his eyes.

Understanding flooded him… That was why she was so hesitant and distant with him now. She believed he hated her or detested her because she wasn’t as perfect as he believed, and was trying to create walls so she wasn’t hurt when he rejected her. Silly girl… He couldn’t hate her or be angry with her if he tried, he loved her too damn much. If anything she was even more perfect for him now… He knew why she hadn’t said anything to him about her ‘other’ life, because she had the same reason and reservations that he did… Hell, he’d seen a bit of that earlier when she threated to kill anyone who tried to harmed him because he knew about the life. With all these thoughts sweeping through his mind came guilt… Heavy guilt that consumed him, drowning him, and settling in the pit of his stomach like a lead weight.

“You should…” He said in a raspy voice. She quirked an eyebrow at him as though asking ‘What?’. “You should be mad… I didn’t take the news of who you were very well. Actually, I took it pretty bad. I flew off the handle and jumped to a bunch of conclusions that were… That were so unbelievable wrong, I could slap myself for even daring to think them. It took your dad pointing out that I knew you’d never do any of the things I was thinking to set me straight.”

“What did you think?” She asked quietly.

“I-I thought that you knew, and were messing around with me somehow… Had some type of agenda to get something from me.” He said swallowing thickly… Shame was hard to swallow.

She nodded, almost acceptingly like she knew that was coming and was waiting for it, before dropping her hands, but before she could attempt to move away from him, Bellamy held her tighter, refusing to let her go. feeling as though his heart would break if she put even a centimeter of space between them. He brought one hand up to cup the side of her beautifully sad face, raising it to look at his own forlorn one. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” He said hoarsely, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, silently begging her not to leave him. Her small hands reached up to wrap around his neck, one slipping under the collar of his suit jacket and shirt to brush reassuringly against the skin there, the other fiddling with the hair on his nape.

“Bellamy…” She sighed. He would never, ever, get over the way she said his name… It sounded so sweet coming from her lips, and it made him feel both weak and strong every single time he heard it. “I’m not mad… You had every right to be suspicious.” She whispered, resting her head on his chest and snuggling further into his hold. Bellamy kissed her temple, his thumb brushing the apple of her cheek, and breathed her in. “I’m sorry you found out the way you did.” She said sadly. Bellamy shook his head lightly, not wanting her to apologize… Not for any of this when she was just as innocent as him in this whole mess. Actually, even more innocent, considering she had no clues pointing to who he was, and when she found out, she immediately asked him if he knew instead of jumping to conclusions like he had… “You didn’t answer my question though…” She said quietly. “Does knowing what you know about me now, change your feelings for me?”

“No.” Bellamy said simply, but with conviction. “Nothing…” He said bringing her face up to look at him. He wanted her to see how serious he was… How significant and important what he was about to say truly was. “Nothing can change the way I feel about you… Does the same hold true for you?” He asked, his heart stopping in his chest with fear that her answer would be different from his.

“Nothing has changed for me… Nothing ever will.” She said solemnly. Bellamy felt his heart kick start back to life in his chest… Her answer soothing his fear in a way nothing else could. He nodded and did what he’d wanted to do since she’s stepped off the elevator… He kissed her. It was a sweet slow kiss, unhurried and unrushed in nature, that reached all the way into the depths of his dark soul and had it sighing in relief at having her light so close to him once again. Just those few measly hours away from her had a heavy thick blanket of misery weighing on his shoulders and a hollow pit of despair dug in his chest that only disappeared when she was with him, touching him in some way with her glowing warmth.

“Seriously you two?” Came a gruff voice, breaking them apart. Bellamy looked up to see Lincoln glaring at them with his hands on his hips shaking his head in disgust. Clarke immediately buried her face in his chest in embarrassment from being caught. Bellamy could feel her blush deeply, with his palm still resting on her cheek. He grinned and kissed the top of her head… She was so cute. He grinned at Lincoln, unapologetically. “Seriously dude? That my sister… Are you trying to get yourself killed, ‘cuz that’s a sure fired way to do it. Pun NOT intended, but still funny.” Lincoln said grudgingly.

Bellamy rolled his eyes at the other man, knowing he was mostly playing… Maybe. Okay, so he wasn’t 100% certain… But nothing in life really was. Bellamy felt his phone vibrate with an incoming text message and kissed the top of Clarke’s head once more before letting her go. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out swiping to read the message. It was from Katie…

_Have you seen my brother today? He’s not at home, he’s not picking up my phone calls, and he’s not returning any of my messages. I’ll admit, I’m a little worried. –K_

That was strange… Murphy always answered Katie phone calls. Always. Bellamy responded to her message none the less saying he hadn’t heard hide nor hair from him, and made a mental note to check on that situation later after the meeting and such was over.

As he sent the message, the elevator dinged, causing Bellamy to look up in confusion… No one was supposed to be here other than the people on the level currently, and security downstairs. As the doors slid open to reveal his half-brother, Bellamy cursed loudly, taking in the sight of Finn’s slovenly appearance. He was wearing a pair of holey ripped baggy jeans that hung so low on his waist they sagged and made him look like a street thug, a dark forest green shirt with some weird stain on it, and a pair of black boots that had seen better days. His face was unshaven and his long shaggy hair was greasy, like he hadn’t showered in days. To put it simply, he looked like the slob he was. He walked forward off the elevator, and stopped short seeing Bellamy glaring at him, with contempt and disdain.

“What are you doing here?” Bellamy asked coldly.

“Fuck if I know.” Finn said with a role of his eyes. He walked behind Roma’s desk and threw himself in the rolling chair throwing his feet up on the desk like he owned the place. Bellamy gritted his teeth in an effort not to lash out, and strangle the other man… Didn’t stop him from swiping Finn’s feet off the desk harshly though. Finn glared back.

“Act like you have some home training asshole.” Bellamy spit. “I’ll repeat my question. What. The ever living fuck… Are. YOU. Doing. Here?”

Finn sighed in exasperation and rubbed his forehead. “Could you tone the yelling down? I’ve got a hangover of crazy proportions right now. Anyway, as I said. I. Don’t. Know. I got a call from my mom telling me to show up at this dump. Said something important was going to go down, and I had to be here. Pity too… I was about to get laid again. Meghan, or Marissa…” Finn paused. “Actually, I don’t quite really remember her name or anything about her, just that she was a brunette, and a solid 8 outta 10. Anyway I was planning to get a little morning nookie and then bolt but I got the call saying to come here.”

“Bellamy?” A soft voice sounded from behind him. He turned to see an extremely pale Clarke tucked into Lincoln’s uninjured side as he whispered something in her ear, his eye never wavering from Finn. Clarke’s eyes were locked in on Finn’s face as well, and she looked like she’d seen a ghost. As he watched, she closed her eyes and nodded to whatever Lincoln said, a pained expression crossing over her face, before her eyes opened and focused on him, silently asking him to come over to where they were standing. Bellamy was a bit confused to say the least, but did as she wanted. Or started to at least.

Finn’s attention was on Clarke the minute she called his name. “Well, well, well… Who do we have here…” He said with a salacious tone that had everyone in the room cringing… Finn didn’t seem to notice, too busy looking at Clarke’s body and licking his chops to take notice of the three sets of vicious, murderous glares directed right at him. Had God allowed glares to actually kill people, Finn would have been dead a million times over… If only Bellamy were that lucky. Maybe that was the reason he didn’t really believe in luck… Because he had none where it really counted. Finn’s grating voice drew Bellamy’s attention once again.

“Bellamy, introduce this stunning individual won’t you?” He said leering at Clarke. The little fool had the audacity to lick his lips and wink at her. Before Bellamy could do anything though… Like pull his gun… Finn’s eyes suddenly widened, like a light bulb was going off in his head for the very first time. Actually, curing cancer was more likely to happen than that but… “You’re her aren’t you?” He asked, excited almost as he jumped up from the chair and rounded the desk.

Bellamy heard Lincoln grumble, “I wish people would stop saying that. I mean damn…” Bellamy couldn’t help but agree, but his attention was diverted by Finn advancing on Clarke, who, though it didn’t seem possible, paled further as he approached, leaning into Lincoln more and more until the large man was practically supporting her smaller frame.

Finn was talking rapidly as he moved closer to her. “No one’s ever actually seen what you look like and lived to tell the tale… Your practically royalty, but then again so am I, so that’s of no consequence. Shit you’re a mafia princess, Princess.”

“Don’t call me that!” She snapped harshly, glaring at him hostilely. “You don’t know me you pretentious arrogant prick.” Finn stopped short and looked at her sharply, his eyes narrowing in anger. He began to stalk towards her again, threatening this time, and was almost to them when Bellamy made his move by quickly stepping between Finn and the brother and sister huddled together. Bellamy roughly shoved him away.

“Back the fuck up.” He said coldly. Finn’s eyes widened at the move. Bellamy was near enough to Clarke and Lincoln that Clarke could lay a hand on his back, and then move it to slip into his hand, clutching it tightly. Whether the action was for her comfort or his, he knew not… Both perhaps. All he knew was he held her hand back just as tightly. Clarke obviously had a disinclination for Finn… She felt frightened or threatened by him somehow, even though Bellamy was pretty positive (About 97.4% sure) they’d never met before. Bellamy didn’t really care what the reasons were for her odd reactions and strong aversion towards his half-brother… _I’m going to protect MY princess at any cost._ He thought dauntlessly.

Of course Finn noticed Clarke’s hand in his… His eyes widened further in disbelief, before settling on Bellamy, his dark blue eyes alighting with mirth. “Oh, this is classic!” He crowed. “The princess and the bastard…” He laughed. Bellamy didn’t say anything… Didn’t even move a muscle except to tighten his hold on Clarke’s trembling hand. Once Finn’s laughter had died down from whatever he’d found so funny, he looked at them all again. “So your trying to move up in the food chain huh, Blake. What, did you figure sleeping with a mob boss’s daughter would make you the Don or something? I gotta give it to you… Pretty good plan using her to your own advantage. One minor problem though… You’re are and will forever be second best and second choice to me. You’ll never belong… Just a pitiful little orphan, the product of a scandalous, swept-under-the-rug affair, whose dead mother was nothing but a whore, and remains to this day daddy’s dirty little secret. Just like your harlot mother I see… Sleeping your way to the top. I wouldn’t want your sloppy seconds anyway.” Finn sneered. And that was it.

The switch inside of Bellamy that hadn’t been flipped in so long that had sat collecting cobwebs, was now flipped. Bellamy felt himself grow cold… Colder than he’d felt in a long time. He let go of Clarke’s hand and pulled his gun. Methodically and deliberately, he pulled the slide lock back, loading a bullet into the chamber of his gun. He flicked the safety off, and cocked it. He aimed it right at Finn’s now pale and frightened face, and put his finger on the trigger ready to pull. NO ONE got away with disrespecting his mother or his girl like that. He began squeezing…

“BELLAMY BLAKE WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT’S HOLY ARE YOU DOING?” His father’s loud booming voice demanded. Bellamy turned head to the side slightly, seeing all four of their various parents staring at him gob-smacked in astonishment.

Bellamy shrugged nonchalantly, like he didn’t have a loaded gun trained on his half-brother. “Target practice obviously.” Bellamy said in a duh voice. “Just showing the Griffins my amazing weapons skills and cool gun… Finn was kind enough to open his mouth and volunteer as the target.”

“Oh…” Damian said confused. Bellamy’s story made them out to be getting along… Strange. Damian obviously knew better, but chose to be oblivious to it. The day Finn and Bellamy agree on anything or worked together was the day time would stop, the apocalypse would happen, and the world as we know it would cease to exist. “Okay, well put that away, we’ve got business to discuss.” He said before turning and walking back to the conference room, uncaring that his oldest son was about to shoot his youngest. Bellamy grudgingly let the gun drop to his side and glared at Finn, promising that the situation wasn’t over. Vanessa walked over to Finn, who was very visibly shaken, and started to lead him after Damian, cooing and fussing over her ‘sweet baby boy’ all while throwing glares Bellamy’s way, knowing his story was bullshit.

Finally, it was just the Griffin’s and Bellamy left in the room… Jake’s grave, sorrowful expression briefly morphed into one of amused confusion as he quirked an eyebrow. “What did I tell you about lying kid?”

“I’m sorry, who was lying?” Bellamy asked sardonically. “I _was_ going to get target practice. I _do_ have fuck-awesome weapons skills. My gun _is_ cool. Finn _did_ open his mouth, and he _did_ volunteer when he started talking shit. Everything I said was the truth.”

Jake shook his head, grinning ruefully to himself. “I’ve taught you well.” Is all he said before turning around and walking off, his face once again taking on that pained look that had Bellamy worried. It didn’t escape Bellamy’s notice he avoided looking at Clarke and Lincoln during the whole exchange. Speaking of… Both siblings were in a heated whisper discussion.

“Is everything okay?” He asked hesitantly. Both of their head snapped up to look at him.

Clarke shot her brother another glare before turning to him and smiling slightly, trying to be reassuring he thought. “Everything is fine Bell.” She turned and walked in the direction everyone else had gone.

Bellamy shot a questioning glance at Lincoln who shook his head and ran a hand over his face wearily, muttering about, ‘stubborn women’. He walked over to Bellamy, clasping him on the shoulder before leaning in and speaking in hushed tones. “Finn’s a dick. You know our history right?” Bellamy nodded his head yes. “Well your half-brother, looks like… _Him_.” He said, emphasizing the him… Like Bellamy should know who _him_ was, which was ridiculous… Until it hit him. Their past… She was kidnapped by that psychotic couple, so that meant…

“Him-him?” Bellamy asked, shocked. “Like as in daddy dearest who kidnapped her when she was a kid?” He clarified. Lincoln only nodded his answer. _Well, damn._ Bellamy thought to himself. _That explains a lot. Why she was so pale and skittish around Finn, and seemed to hate him upon sight._

Bellamy cursed, and grabbed the Lincoln’s arm tugging the other man down the hall into the conference room, hating the idea of her even being in the same room as him now, much less alone with him. Yeah, she wasn’t technically alone, but Jake was clueless at to the situation, Damian and Vanessa probably wouldn’t care if they knew, and Bellamy wouldn’t put stock in her bitch of a mother giving a damn if she knew either. So yes, essentially she was alone in that room, and Bellamy didn’t like that not one bit. With either him or Lincoln there, at least she had people on her side willing to beat the living shit out of Finn… Then again, Bellamy would do that just for the hell of it, but that wasn’t the point.

Lincoln came along willingly, wincing and cursing the whole way, but still moving at Bellamy’s anxious pace. Right before they got to the door, Lincoln yanked Bellamy to a halt and began speaking in low tones. “She didn’t want to tell you because she didn’t want you to think less of her, so act cool and don’t give yourself away lover-boy. She’s tougher than she looks and she can hold her own, you got me?”

Bellamy nodded and took a moment to regain his composure. He took a deep breath and let it out. This whole deal-meeting-thing was stressing him the hell out, and he could only imagine what Clarke’s stress level was right about then. He needed a vacation after all this bullshit… Scratch that. THEY needed a vacation… Him and Clarke. Together. Alone. She said she loved the beach… Maybe he’d take her to the Hamptons for the weekend, and if she loved it there, he’d look into investing into some real estate in that area. A mansion maybe or a little seaside cottage… Whatever the hell she loved and wanted, he’d buy…

Lincoln’s fingers snapping right in front of his face drew him out of his head until he realized where he was and became annoyed that they both weren’t there already. Lincoln’s face showed his amusement, it was like he knew what Bellamy had been thinking… Bellamy simply rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Let’s go.”

Walking into the dimly light conference room, the first thing Bellamy noticed was Clarke and Finn sitting directly in front of each other on opposite sides of the large table, glaring hostilely at each other, their eye contact never wavering from one another. The second thing he noticed was Abby and Vanessa located across the room out of hearing distance, in the middle of conversing about a seemingly very interesting topic. They were smiling and nodding at each other like close acquaintances sharing a secret… Of course the world’s two evilest of bitches would get along and become the best of buddies. God help them all, because they were all royally screwed with them both backing each other up… The last thing he noticed was Jake and his own father in a very heated conversation in the corner of the room, farthest away from everyone. Jake seemed to be pleading with Damian pointing towards Clarke and Finn, but his father looked resolute in his stance, refusing to back down, and shaking his head no at whatever Jake was saying. Finally, Jake seemed to accept he wasn’t going to get Damian’s mind to change. He turned and saw Bellamy and Lincoln standing there with the double doors closed at their backs. His entire frame seemed to sag in defeat and dejection upon seeing them both, his face showing so much torment and anguish Bellamy felt his breath catch in his throat. _This is not going to be good._ Bellamy thought. _Bad, this is going to be very bad._ His subconscious agreed.

Jake began to walk across the room towards Clarke. Abby and Vanessa broke apart seeing that the men had stopped talking, Abby coming to Jake’s side and Vanessa returning to Damian’s. Jake stopped beside Clarke and sat down in the chair beside her as Abby stood behind his chair, her hands on his shoulders in a loving gesture that really surprised Bellamy… Did the Wicked Bitch of the West actually have a heart?! _Doubtful_ …

Lincoln stayed at his side, shifting uncomfortably at the rising tension in the room… Bellamy felt foreboding rising up inside of him like a tidal wave. Damian said something to Vanessa who then walked over to sit by Finn, while Damian walked to the head of the table, standing directly across the room from the doors where Bellamy and Lincoln were standing. They had a perfect view of everyone in the room.

“So…” Damian started. “After much thought and deliberation, I’ve come to the decision that one of our long standing customs will be used as payment for goods and services rendered. There will be an arranged marriage…” Bellamy felt the breath being sucked from his body. “Between my son Finn, and Jake’s daughter Charlotte.” And the world was crashing and burning around him. Clarke’s wide, frightened, and distressed eyes immediately swung to his own panic and terrified ones.

“Whhaaat?!” Finn moaned… His voice could make someone’s ears bleed. “But dad…” He tried protesting. “I’m not ready to settle down. I don’t want or need a wife, certainly not one like her… Sure she’s hot, but she’s totally stuck up and frigid and I bet she’s sterile. I don’t want damaged goods dad… I can find someone better on my own…”

“FINN COLLINS.” His father boomed, cutting off Finn’s pathetic, desperate attempts to dissuade his father from the course of action that had so many more people in the room agonizing over the announcement than he truly knew. “That is going to be your wife…” Bellamy couldn’t hold back his flinch at the word. He noticed Clarke flinched as well. She had yet to look away from him. “Try for some respect.” His father continued. Jake’s face had slowly gotten redder and redder as Finn spoke, but he suspiciously kept quiet, not defending his daughter like Bellamy would have thought, seeming to settle for just scowling at the younger man.

Finally, Clarke broke her eye contact, her face and eyes going cold and unreadable, frightening Bellamy further… He felt cut off from her, something he hated immensely. “I don’t have to.” She said simply, her cool gaze flying to Damian, daring him to contradict her.

“Actually, you do… If you don’t marry my son, the man power and provisions your dad needs will be unavailable.” Damian said, almost apologetically, like he hated doing this to her. Who knows… He might have been sorrowful and regretful to do it, but Bellamy couldn’t focus on that. He was frozen in place… Numb… He felt like he was watching everything happening around him from outside his body…

“See… That’s where you losing me…” Clarke said bitingly. “Why does he need this stuff you speak of and why do you need a marriage as payment? Can’t you find something else you want for the things my father is asking for? Honestly, you’re basically selling me. I am not some damn animal or inanimate object to be live auctioned off or sold. I am a person, and I have a say in where I go, what the hell I do, and, most importantly, who I will or will not marry, and I say I am not marrying your half-wit, good-for-nothing, simpleton of a son, who looks a lot like a demented, neurotic, pedophilic man I knew of over a decade and a half ago. I refuse.” She said, standing from her set and pushing it back under the table. “Come on dad, this guy’s crazy as hell. Let’s go.” She said turning to go to the door, but stopped after a few steps not hearing her father’s footsteps following behind her. She slowly turned and took in her father’s bowed head and slumped shoulders… He seemed to radiate sorrow and pain. When he looked up, Bellamy could see the words clearly in his eyes… _I am so sorry._ They seemed to say. There was no mistaking his eyes conveying nothing but regret and mournful grief. It looked to Bellamy like Jake was already saying goodbye to his daughter in his mind.

Clarke held her father’s dispirited gaze, and spoke lowly, in an eerily calm voice that sounded like it always preceded the storm. “Mr. Collin’s would you, your wife, and your youngest son give us the room.” It was more of a commanding statement than a question. Her eyes never left her father’s, so she didn’t see his father nod and begin to usher them out of the room. Bellamy was moved from his spot by the door by Lincoln, who pulled him further into the room, allowing the Collins to exit.

Finn of course stopped and turned around to ask Bellamy snidely, “Coming too big brother?” Bellamy couldn’t even move or respond… The only clue that he’d even heard his half-brother’s words was the fact that Bellamy turned his desolate, tormented eyes to look at him. For the briefest of moments, Finn looked at him… Really, carefully, critically, looked at him, and then Bellamy saw it. Satisfaction, pleasure, and lastly, the deviousness that always came before Finn did something treacherous. He was actually happy about the situation, simply because Bellamy was in pain.

“I do believe I said only you, your dad, and your mom…” Clarke spoke. “Bellamy was nowhere in that statement, now get the hell out.” Clarke said sharply, throwing him a withering glare. Once he was gone and the door was closed, Clarke put her bag on the table, and moved around the table to the other side where the windows were. She walked to the windows and gazed out over the gloomy city. It was the middle of the day, but the sky was dark outside with thick rain clouds making the room dark as well… The only light coming from three lights hanging over the conference room table. The edges of the room were cast in shadows. The room was quiet for a beat, before she spoke, her voice once again low, but not as clear. “What did you do dad?” She choked out. “What have you not told me about? What is so terribly dire that you would break your promise to me?”

Jake lowered his head to his hands that were propped up by his elbows on the table, clearly distraught, and that’s when he explained to her the gist of the situation which was basically the Canadian criminal sectors from the three proveniences allying together, and their plan to get rid of the Griffin family to run their drug operation easier. Bellamy could still tell there were things he was leaving out… Things he was choosing not to say, either because he was ashamed or because wanted to protect her. All Bellamy could think watching Clarke’s back and shoulders slowly tense further and further as Jake told her bits and pieces about the situation was, _You’re a damn fool Jake, a damn fool._

Clarke didn’t say anything for a while… She just stood there, stock still, hardly breathing.

“Why didn’t you call?” She asked so suddenly both Bellamy and Lincoln jumped. “Why didn’t you call me, your daughter, the person who is your best strategist and one of your top assassins, to tell me what was going on?” She asked again, expounding on the question, her voice laced with so much fury Jake visibly smarted from the sound of her voice.

Jake didn’t say anything, probably couldn’t say anything really. “Tell me why!” She said louder, turning to look sharply over her shoulder at him.

“I-I couldn’t. You’d just moved away. You’d gotten out of the life! How-how could I bring you right back into it?!” He asked desperately looking up at her, trying and ultimately failing to justify his actions.

“That…” She said slowly, disgust lacing her voice. “Sounds like a lie.” She hissed. Jake winced.

“I-I-I-” He stopped and took a breath. Bellamy was stunned. Had Jake really just flat out lied to his daughter’s face? “Look. I couldn’t call you… I’ve handled situations like this before, I didn’t need your help. I didn’t need my _daughter_ to come save the day. Calling you would have only made you worry.” He said slowly like he was coming up with his answer as he spoke it. Big mistake.

“You could handle it on your own…” She mused out loud to herself, nodding and look at the floor. “Yet… Here we are.” She said simply, her eyes flickering up to her father’s, before she turned back to look out of the window. When she spoke again, her voice was back to that eerily calm tone that had chills crawling up Bellamy’s spine. “I moved to get away from my mother. Did I ever, at any point, tell you I was quitting the Family? Did I ever tell you, ‘I’ll be home for Christmas, but don’t call me if you need me, or find yourself in dire straights’? Because if my memory, which isn’t impaired like a shrew I know believes,” She said throwing a pointed glare over her shoulder at her mother. “Serves me correctly, I never said that, or any such thing like that.”

“No, you didn’t…” Jake concedes, looking down, shame-faced.

“So, it sounds like your pride, and arrogance I may add, made a decision to not call me, which is now going to make you break one of the biggest promises you ever made to me. Do you remember that promise father?” She asked coldly. It didn’t escape Bellamy’s notice that she used father instead of dad.

When Jake said nothing once again she spoke for him. “It happened when I was 15 years old, and that Chicago Don approached you asking for an alliance that would be achieved through marriage when his son and I were officially of age. You told him no, and I quote, ‘because my daughter will be allowed to choose who she spends the rest of her life with. I won’t take away her choice to gain wealth, ties, or peace.’ Then you sat me down and told me how you and mother met, and how I would never be forced into an arranged marriage. How I would be able to choose love one day like you did. Remember, you said, ‘You will always be able to choose love Lottie, I won’t take that away from you ever, I promise.’ Yet here we are… You telling me I have no choice but to marry that slimy rat out there.”

“You have a choice…” Jake whispered, closing his eyes. “You always have a choice.”

“You are right about me having a choice now, about this, but I’ve never had a choice about anything but this, and even now I’m getting the vibe that I do have a choice, but I really don’t. Basically, you’re telling me that when I refuse, and I refuse all right, that things are going to be okay for you right?” Clarke asked sarcastically. “You’ll get along fine and survive without the things you’re asking from Mr. Collins? Because I’m thinking you wouldn’t ask if you didn’t really need them.”

Jake opened his mouth to answer, Bellamy could tell he was about to lie once again and say yes they would be fine, but before he could say anything Clarke cut him off. “Speak truthfully, or so help me God I will walk out of here this very second.”

“No…” He answered honestly, dropping his hands to the table, looking up at her wearily. It felt like a nail in the coffin… One single word…

“Okay, I’ve had enough…” Abby said.

“Shut up…” Clarke snapped furiously, glaring at her mother. “This isn’t about you, I wasn’t talking to you, and I have nothing to say to you so just shut up!”

“Lottie!” Jake said outraged. “Don’t talk to your mother like that.”

“Keep her in check then… I’m talking to you. You can speak for yourself, therefore she has nothing to say.” Clarke took a deep breath. “Now… Tell me right now why I should do this. Why I should, essentially, give up my life for this.”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Abby asked stunned. “Good Lord Charlotte… Dramatic much? I swear I didn’t raise you to be like this! You’re making us look like horrible parents…”

“You are a horrible parent.” Clarke said abruptly. “You are the most controlling, cold, and unfeeling mother, that probably ever existed in the history of the world… In the history of the universe maybe.”

“Charlotte!!” Abby screeched. “Is this your revenge? For me making you go to medical school? For making sure you had a good life?”

Clarke looked at her mother for a minute, and then promptly burst into laughter… Not her sweet giggles that Bellamy loved so much, or her genuine laugh that had Bellamy’s heart stuttering in his chest at the sound. No, this laugh was cold, and maniacal. “First off, you actually think I would hold a grudge like that for so long?” She asked once the laughter had died down. “No, I figured out you were a selfish woman a long time ago… Uncaring and heartless to the wants and needs of others. The only reason you wanted a doctor for a daughter was so you could brag to your friends how your daughter was just. Like. You. You wanted to show me off like a charm on your charm bracelet. Let’s not insult either of our intelligences by pretending otherwise, okay?” She asked with such a sugary sweet tone, it could rot someone’s teeth. “Second, I know it hurts to not have all the attention on you for even a moment, but please do try and shut the hell up. Stop trying to make everything about you, because this literally includes you in no way whatsoever. I’m the one that’s being asked to give everything up and get married to save the family… Not you, so be quiet. Now… Father.” She said looking at Jake, leaving a stunned Abby gaping, open mouthed, at her daughter who just put her in her place… Bellamy had a feeling that didn’t happen too often. “You haven’t answered my question. Why should I do this…”

Jake once again did not respond… He just sat there looking at his daughter. After it was clear he wasn’t going to speak Abby spoke from behind him. “I would have thought it would be pretty clear why you should do it. You’re going to do it for your family.”

“No, I’m not… You see that would have been a valid excuse if my _family_ had made the decision to include me in this. As it stands right now, I had no hand or say in any of the decisions up to now, so why should I bail you out when you come running to me? Had you called I bet I would have gotten you out of this, but not now. It’s too late. I finally have something that makes me happy, and I’m not going to give it up because you both…” She said looking between her parents. “Fucked up big time. I have given up everything for this family… All my hopes and dreams I have handed over to you, only for you to crush them in your cruel hands. You never stood by me…”

“What Charlotte…” Abby interrupted. “What do you want to do? What do you want to be so bad, that we, I, apparently took the choice away from you?” Her mother asked with an eye roll, and a tone of voice that implied everything her daughter was saying was ridiculous.

“I want to be everything you despise and hate.” Clarke said simply. “I have done everything you both have ever asked of me, even if it made me miserable and I was completely unhappy. I did it all to make you both proud and pleased with me, but no more. I’m happy now… For the first time in my life, I am genuinely, irrevocably happy. I have a good job, I have great friends, and I have an extraordinary man who likes and appreciates me for me, and while I don’t know where our relationship is going, I want the opportunity to find out. I would have helped had you called and told me what was going on… I would have come home, made a plan of attack to take them down, and it would have been done and dealt with, but no. You had to wait ‘til it got progressively worse and worse, only to tell me when you needed me to make the ultimate sacrifice on my part as a last resort to make everything right for you. I refuse to sacrifice my future because of your shortcomings… It’s as simple as that.”

“Did you know they tried to abduct me from the hospital after one of my shifts?” Abby asked crossly.

“See…” Clarke said shaking her head ruefully. “That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem.” She said pointing first at Abby then at herself.

“So you’re going to let me, your father, and your brother die, just so you can have the choice of free will and a summer fling with a man that will leave you high and dry the minute someone prettier comes along? Your brother was nearly beaten to death for Christ sake!” Abby said yelling.

The whole room dropped in temperature. Everyone seemed to freeze at the words that had come pouring from Abby’s mouth. The lady in question clasped one of her hands over her mouth realizing her slip up. Clarke’s statuette frame slowly turned to look at her brother. Her eyes were wide, and that haunting blueish-grey color. “What?” She whispered, so lowly, Bellamy could only really understand what she said because he could see her lips form the word.

“Nine bikers jumped him after he closed the gallery the other night…” Abby said, her hand dropping from her mouth to fiddle with the necklace at her throat nervously, as she watched the stare down between brother and sister. “He fought them off, but got pretty banged up in the process.” Clarke was stunned to say the least. She looked at Lincoln with complete disbelief.

“Bug…” Lincoln pleaded, starting forward like he was going to grab Clarke and hug her, but promptly stopped when Clarke recoiled from him like he’d just hit her.

“You… You told me it was a motorcycle accident.” She said looking down, one of her hands came up to rub her forehead, as though she was trying to rub away the beginnings of a headache while making sense of the words her mother had spoken. “You stood… Right in front of me… And told me you had… A motorcycle accident.” She said, slowly, processing each sentence fragment for any sense or revelation.

“Bug…” Lincoln tried again. Clarke’s head snapped up hearing the affectionate nickname, in such a beseeching tone of voice.

“Don’t call me that.” She said, her voice devoid of emotion. “My brother is the only one who calls me that.”

“I am you brother…” Lincoln implored. “I’m right here. It’s me.” Bellamy could hear the tears in the bigger man’s gruff voice.

“No…” She said taking a step away from him, tears clouding her eyes, and choking her voice. “No, my brother doesn’t lie to me. My brother has never lied to me, not ever.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Lincoln begged for forgiveness. “I didn’t want you to know and worry. I couldn’t tell you because then I’d have to tell you about the war going on, and dad forbid me to tell you…”

“SO YOU LIED TO ME?!” She screamed. “You stood right in front of me and lied straight to my face?! I can’t trust you…” She said clearly shocked by the revelation the words coming out of her own mouth brought. “I can’t trust you because you lied to my face and didn’t even flinch. Oh my God…” She said, her breathing coming in ragged breaths. “My family lied to me…” She murmured dazed, turning back to the window and leaning on it with her hands, her head bowed. “They _lied_ to _me_ and _hid_ things from _me_ …”

“Charlotte…” Abby tried in a surprisingly gentle tone.

“Get out…” Clarke said emotionlessly. “Just get out. I can’t even bare to have you in the same room as me right now. I need to think. Go.”

Lincoln, Jake, and Abby all left the room, Lincoln and Jake both sporting red blood-shot eyes, but Bellamy refused to leave. He couldn’t. As the door closed with audible click, Bellamy saw her shoulders begin to shake with the force of her sobs. She suddenly dropped to her knees, and fell to sit on her heels, her hands still resting on the window, as her sobs echoed through the room. Bellamy could no longer stay still… He moved to her, sitting on the ground beside her with his back resting against the cold window. Clarke’s hands dropped to rest limply in her lap, her head coming up as her eyes settled on his face. “Bellamy…” She whimpered so helplessly, so tormented, Bellamy felt it down in his very soul.

He wordlessly brought her into his arms and lap so she was lying on his chest, cradled in his arms, looking up at him. There were no whispered words of reassurances… No ‘It’ll be okay.’ or ‘Everything is going to be alright.’ because he couldn’t promise her those things… Instead he just held her while her heart and head warred with one another on what to do… What decision to make. Bellamy couldn’t bring himself to be selfish and ask her to pick him or to tell her he loved her… No matter how much his heart, head, and subconscious all screamed for him to beg her to pick him, to be with him and love him, he couldn’t bring himself to make this even harder on her than it already was. He loved her just that much.

“I’m sorry…” She started sobbing over and over again. “I am so sorry… Please don’t hate me. Please.” And that’s when Bellamy knew.

It was over.

They were over.

All before it had ever really began.

He couldn’t bring himself to do anything but hold her tighter. He’d never be able to hold her like this again… Never be able to hold her at all really, so he took advantage of the moment. Their last moment. Together. He rested his forehead on hers with his eyes closed just breathing her in, and memorizing the feeling of her clinging to him like he was her life line. This, and all the memories they had created before this moment, would have to last him the rest of his life without her. He would have to live life without her with him… Without her smiles, laughs, giggles, jokes, teasing, kisses, hugs, light, warmth… All things he had taken for granted. Bellamy didn’t notice the tears that fell from his own eyes, too lost in both of their complete and utter, overwhelming despair.

After what only seemed like seconds but was surely only minutes, he felt her sit up on his lap, and her hands on his face wiping away the evidence of his tears. When she was done and her hands were just resting in his face, he opened his eyes to see her just staring at him, drinking him in. He did the same for her, carefully wiping her tears from her splotchy tear-stained face.

“Beautiful.” He whispered.

“You’re not so bad yourself handsome.” She whispered back, reminiscing their first words to one another. Fitting, Bellamy thought, that their first words to one another be some of their last.

He leaned forward and kissed her one last time. A goodbye kiss that was filled with nothing but bittersweet warmth, sadness, and regret. When they pulled away from one another… Bellamy felt the remains of his broken heart and soul leave him, going with her, leaving him with a hollowed out chest and a steadily numbing body. She’d always have his heart and soul, forever… It was only befitting seeing as how she was the one who’d found them, resurrected them, and had them from the beginning.

They stood silently and fixed their cloths, wiping away the evidence of their tearful goodbye, and mentally preparing themselves for what was about to come next… Pain. Just so much pain. Bellamy sent a message to Jake telling them to come back in.

After his phone was tucked away again, Bellamy took her in his arms once more and hugged her tightly. “I understand.” He whispered into her ear as he held her, and he did. He understood that she couldn’t just let her family die… That wasn’t who she was. The kind, loving, compassionate woman whose unwavering loyalty to her family, albeit undeserved by them, was awe-inspiring… That was the woman he loved with all his might and being. She wouldn’t be who she was if she just stood by and let them die. She would tear herself apart on the inside knowing she could have saved them. It was just her nature to sacrifice anything and everything she had for those she cared for and loved, even at great cost to herself, and that was what drew him to her in the first place… Her unwavering selflessness, even if she didn’t always want to be selfless. She was the one to always make the tough decisions and give up the most… Always the one to make the ultimate sacrifice.

“I understand, and I don’t hate you…” He whispered again fervently. “I can’t and could never.” Then he broke his heart and hers by kissing her forehead and letting her go. Footsteps sounded down the hall drawing nearer and nearer, as Bellamy moved further and further away from her into the shadows of the dimly lit room until his back was pressed against the wall in the corner by the window, it being the only thing to keep his weak knees from dropping him to the ground.

Everyone but Finn came pouring through the doors. They were quiet, not saying one thing. Clarke moved back to the window, resting a palm on the cool glass, if it was even possible, the weather seemed to be worse… Outside, it looked like Bellamy felt on the inside. Jake, Abby, Damian, and Vanessa all took seats on the same side of the table facing the window and Clarke. Lincoln just stood behind his parents.

Finally, after a few minutes, Clarke turned and walked over to the table standing in front of one of the chairs, clutching the back of it tightly. She looked at her father first, then her mother, then her brother who was silently shaking his head no, pleading with her not to do it. She ignored it. Finally, her eyes flitted over to Bellamy, and lingered the longest, before coming to rest on Damian.

“I agree to marry your son Mr. Collins.” She stated in a firm, despondent voice that belied her grief at having to say the words and agree to the deal. Abby let out a loud breath clearly relieved, while Lincoln and Jake hung their heads. Vanessa looked excited while Damian looked just sad. “There are non-negotiable conditions that must be agreed to first, which will be written up and signed at a later date.”

“Yes, of course.” Damian agreed amicably and kindly. He looked at her like she was doing him the biggest favor in the world instead of committing herself to a lifetime of misery.

“I want a pre-nup signed on my terms. There will be an infidelity clause that says the whole thing is off and I can divorce him if he is unfaithful at any point from this moment on. There will be one, I repeat one, child from the marriage and no others. The Family, both of them, will be run how I see fit, because your son is clearly a weak minded individual who will drive everything both our families have ever worked for into the ground. Is all of this clear?” She asked monotonously, her voice never fluctuating in tone.

“Yes.” Damian agreed.

“Can we please include that we have to have a family dinner once a week at our house? It’ll ensure that we see you both regularly, and eventually our grandchild when he or she comes.” Vanessa asked hesitantly.

“We’ll see.” Clarke said coldly, clearly a ‘fuck you’. “I’m permissible to alter the terms of the agreement and contract at any point in time, how I, and I alone, see fit and at my discretion. Is that understood Mr. Collins?” Damian nodded, not able to actually say anything anymore…

“One more thing…” She said leaning over the table slightly. “The Griffin Family will get everything they need to deal with and resolve this problem with the Canadians. If I find you have withheld anything, down to a single bullet, and one person from the Griffin Organization dies unnecessarily because of it, well, not only is this deal off, but you won’t see me coming until you’re hovering over your dead body, bleeding out on the floor with a bullet in your heart. I don’t make threats Mr. Collins, I make promises. Keep that in mind.” It didn’t escape Bellamy’s attention that she spoke as if she wasn’t apart of the Griffin family any more, and he wasn’t the only one to notice… Jake’s head snapped up and was watching her with wide worried eyes.

“Understood Miss. Griffin.” Damian said with a nod. Honestly Damian looked a little frightened of her, and Bellamy took great satisfaction in the fact that his father was afraid of the monster he’d created in her by forcing her into doing this. Hell, he hadn’t even met or dealt with the new Bellamy that had been born from this whole ordeal yet…

“Good.” She said straightening up. “Leave please. I need a moment to speak with my… Family.” She said, gritting her teeth on the word.

Damian nodded and he and Vanessa stood, leaving the room.

Abby as the first to speak. “I am so proud of you Charlotte. I just knew my daughter wouldn’t just…”

“Stop.” Clarke said coldly cutting her off. “You no longer have a daughter. I no longer have a mother.”

Abby gasped. “What?! I am your mother, Charlotte Clarke Griffin! I carried you in my womb for nine months and gave birth to you…”

“Yes, and that is the extent of your mothering… Just an incubator. How does it feel to be degraded like you’re nothing but an object used, passed around, and useful for only one thing? Because that’s how I feel right now. I repeat. I no longer have a mother. In fact, I no longer have a father either. As of this moment, I renounce the both of you.” Clarke said her lifeless eyes turning to look at Jake.

“Lottie, please baby girl… I am your dad. You’re my little girl.” Jake pleaded, tears finally breaking free of his eyes, and rolling down his aged face.

“No. I’m sorry, but your little girl is dead, and I’m just broken person who took her place… You created her, and she’s an orphan.” She said without emotion, like she wasn’t disowning her parents.

“Clarke…” Lincoln said stepping forward, his face panicked thinking he was next.

“One day…” Clarke said looking at her brother with hurt in her eyes, the first real show of emotion since everyone had re-entered the room. “One day I will be able to forgive you for lying to me and not telling me things you should’ve no matter who told you not to. I could never abandon you… Not like you’ve done me. Until that day comes though, you need to get your priorities straight and figure out where your loyalty in this sham of a family lies. Remember who made you stay when you wanted to run, who has been with you through everything, who has always supported you no matter what, and then think about what you just did to me. One day you will be able to earn back my trust, but not today. Today, you, the person I least expected to betray me, hurt me more than any other person ever could because I never thought it would be you to deceive me. Then again… It was Judas who did the same to Jesus.”

Clarke turned her unfeeling gaze back on her mother and father, who were sitting in a stunned silence. “Congratulations…” She said in a dead voice. “You’ve both done something no one else has ever been able to do… Not even myself at my lowest… You’ve broken me. I have no hope, no spirit, and no faith left, that I will ever find happiness or be happy again. The only thing that will carry me through the rest of my life is the knowledge that you will be in even more pain than I am, knowing you put me through this and continue to put me through this with every breath I take. You have sentenced me to a fate worse than death. I have to commit the rest of my life to a despicable man, whom I will never love, and it’s all because you made the wrong choice… I have to clean up your mess. But that’s all right… It’ll only cost you your only daughter.” She looked at her mother.

“Abby, you have finally gotten your way… I will be _exactly_ like you. A bitter, wretched, harpy who has no care or need for emotion. I will raise my child exactly like you did me, forcing my beliefs and wishes and wants on that child ‘til one day they too disown me. A vicious cycle life creates yes? Here I was thinking I had beat it… I could create my own destiny, my own fate, one that was completely different from the one predestined to me with you as my mother, but here we are. Thank you. Thank you for teaching me that life and fate are cruel. I finally understand now. I believe I have finally found my weakness, and its love. Love is weakness…” She finished nodding to herself resigned to her new outlook on life. “My love for you all, my family, the people who are supposed to care for and protect me, has done nothing but cause me pain, so I am done. I am done with you.”

“I am so disappointed in you doing this to us.” Abby said, shaking her head, with tears in her eyes.

“Nothing new then huh.” Clarke remarked wryly. “But I do understand the feeling, in fact, life is filled with disappointments… I learned that years and years ago. Don’t worry, I too am looking at my biggest disappointment in life.” She said coolly, her gaze firmly fixed on Abby. She turned to her father and said, “Next time, take the time to think before making mistakes, especially for your family’s sake. The next one could cost you your last and only child.”

Clarke took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them. “I wash my hands of this and of you. Goodbye.” With those departing words and one last soulful look at Bellamy she turned and walked to the end of the table picking up her clutch and walking out the door. Bellamy followed her, as did Lincoln and Jake. Leaving a stunned Abby frozen in her chair. Out in the hall way, Clarke headed straight for the reception area. As soon as she cleared the hallway, she was stopped by Finn. Bellamy, Jake, and Lincoln all halted far enough away to hear what would be said. Bellamy noticed Clarke’s whole body tensed at having him so close, while Vanessa and Damian who had been sitting in the waiting area stood to watch the interaction.

“So listen…” Finn started. “I hear were getting married. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too happy at first, and we haven’t exactly gotten off to the best start, but I actually like the idea now.” He said, his eyes flickering over her shoulder to make sure Bellamy was within hearing range and was listening, when it was confirmed he was, Finn continued. “I was thinking since were going to be together for the rest of our lives, we might get to know each other over a cup of coffee, and then maybe if things go good… Well,” He gave a suggestive look. “I say we go back to my place and practice for the honeymoon… There will be a lot of that in our marriage.” He said eyeing her chest.

Then, what came next simultaneously had Bellamy in fear, awe and clutching his junk wincing. Clarke just snapped. She transformed before his very eyes into a warrior… She stomped on his foot, hard, with her high heel, used her free hand to quickly hike her skirt up a little in order to knee him, hard, in the nuts, and then while he was doubled over in presumably agonizing pain, she dropped her purse, pulled him up slightly and did a rapid uppercut punch to his jaw with her left hand and then delivered a powerful right hook to his jaw.

Vanessa screamed as Finn dropped to the floor and rolled onto his side still clutching his balls, whimpering in pain. Clarke wasn’t even winded, not one hair out of place, and no visible sign that she’d just laid the guy flat out on the ground in 15 seconds top.

“Mommy…” Finn whimpered. Vanessa started to move towards him.

“Uh-uh…” Clarke said with a shake of her head and a wave of her finger at Vanessa, stopping her from coming forward to rescue her son. “No… This is the moment you grow up Finn Collins.” She said looking down at the whining sniveling man rolling around on the ground like a child. She picked up her purse where she dropped it, and walked the step or so over to Finn. She bent down at the knees, and looked at the pathetic man.

Suddenly, like a viper striking, her hand snaked out and grabbed his face harshly in her hand, squeezing his cheeks together making his lips pucker like a fish, rendering him practically immobile. “I’d be doing both us and the world a favor if I caused damage to your boys…” She said giving a pointed look at his crotch. “I wouldn’t have to have sex with you, and you’d never reproduce. Win-win for everyone yes?” She nodded his head like a child. His eyes were wide on her, like he wasn’t sure what in the hell was going on, but he was definitely paying attention. “Now, let’s get one thing straight right now. I’m not your momma and I sure as hell am not your babysitter. Speak to me disrespectfully again, and you’re going to wake up in a bathtub full of ice with your detached dick in your hand. Trust me, I don’t play, but if you think I’m lying, please try me. You’ll find out real quick who the alpha of this marriage is going to be. Understand?” She again nodded his head. “Good boy…” She cooed sweetly. “You’re going to love what I have in store for this marriage.” She said her voice full of promise as she let him go and stood gracefully. Bellamy’s stomach rolled with nausea at the suggestive tone she was using.

Finn’s eyes got wide. “Really?” He asked with an awe filled voice looking up at her, excited.

“Mm-hmm… You see, if I’m going to be stuck in this marriage hating it, miserable and suffering through it until the day you die or I kill you, I’m going to have to have some fun. When living in hell, one must learn to amuse one’s self right? Well you’re going to be my amusement. Oh boy am I going to have so much fun… I’m thinking of getting you a little pink shock collar, like one you would find on a female dog. You see, the minute you say I do, is the minute you become my little bitch.” She hissed, viciously. “You will never see the light of day unless I deem it so. Now ask me why.”

“Why?” Finn whispered fearful. Bellamy briefly wondered if she could make him pee his pants.

“Because of what you just tried to do to Bellamy. Rubbing in his face that were engaged and our impending disastrous marriage, just to hurt him or to get a rise out of him. Well, I’ve got news for you, he dodged a bullet with me… I am going to make your life a living hell, I promise you that. I’m going to make you wish you were never an itch in your daddy’s pants much less born, so cheers to our happily ever after. It will only start when one of us is in our graves, and I’m betting on that being you. Run to mommy while you still can, because she won’t be able to help you for very long…” She said coldly, walking around his prone body on the floor to the open elevator.

“Violence won’t solve anything!” Finn called to her retreating back. “We’re still engaged… We’re getting married!”

“Not for a good long year…” She called over her shoulder passing a horrified Vanessa and awe-struck Damian, before turning to look at him. “And you’re wrong about violence not solving anything… It makes me feel a hell of a lot better. I have a feeling it’ll be my form of therapy in our marriage, so best not to piss me off.” She stepped into the elevator, and turned, hitting the button for the garage.

As the doors closed, her unforgettable blue-grey eyes, so troubled, unhappy, and tear-filled, latched onto Bellamy’s own dejected brown ones, until the doors closed, stealing her away from him. Before the doors completely closed though, he noticed one single lone tear fall from her long eyelash, trailing down her pale cheek… And then she was gone… Leaving him numb and dazed thinking…

_What in the hell just happened?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... So I have a confession. I cried writing this. I never cry, like ever, but I was boo-hoo-ing and sniffling and dashing away tears writing this, and even when I re-read it to edit it a bit. I constantly had to remind myself... "They will be together again... They will.". For all those people freaking out right now, let me reassure you here. THIS IS A BELLARKE STORY. THEY WILL MEET AND BE TOGETHER AGAIN... After I put them both through the emotional ringer. Promise.
> 
> So lets talk about some things... What did you think of their cute morning together? Pretty great morning to have huh. What about Jake's reveal of who Clarke was? Did anyone get mad at Bellamy for thinking the way he did when he found out? What about Clarke's reaction, thinking her dad had told Bellamy and was going to get him killed? Who just loved the sibling banter between Clarke and Lincoln and then the budding bromance between Lincoln and Bellamy?
> 
> Now for the dark stuff... Who called the arranged marriage between Clarke and Finn? It had to happen people, but (Spoiler) it wont get to the actual wedding... Actually, they wont make it 6 months before things change. (End spoiler). Don't we just hate Finn? Abby too? Was anyone so unbelievably happy to see this side of Clarke? The take charge part, not the broken part. Is anyone ticked off at Jake right now? Damian too I guess, but mainly Jake, for lying, getting Clarke into this mess, and hiding things from her. Was Clarke's actions in disowning her parents too extreme? What about her beat down and verbal whipping of Finn? (I had so much fun writing that, not even gonna lie). What did you think of Lincoln turning out to have lied?
> 
> Tell me your thoughts people... I'm dying to know. What was your favorite part? Is there something you didn't like? Did it go like you pictured, or similar enough? Most importantly... Did you cry?
> 
> SPOILERS FOR NEXT CHAPTER... We're going to get several confrontations and more revelations, and we will see a whole lot of Aftermath!Bellamy. We'll also see a lot of regret on Jake's part. We might even see that Abby actually has a heart, not that Bellamy will care. Maybe Bellamy will take a page out of Clarke's book and disown a few people too. It's not going to be pretty folks.
> 
> Now, as for my updating schedule... Until I can get my next chapter written, I wont have one. I've got papers, projects, construction, doctors appointments, and family to deal with. I wont give details because I don't want to bore you (I'll tell you if you wanna know, but I doubt you do). Anyway, I've got a lot going on... A crazy lot actually, so I don't want to set a date a disappoint you all again like I did this past Friday :'( So many of you have commented on how great I am with letting you know when I'll be updating, and I feel so horrible I broke that. I promise to try and get the next chapter written as quick as possible, but I for sure wont be updating for the next week or two. I'm so sorry guys. I promise I'm not abandoning the story or any of you, I just got to get stuff done.  
> -Redhead17x  
> P.S.- I'll be responding to comments from this chapter and last chapter too, soon. I'll get caught up, I promise.


	18. Aftermath and Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone... Thank you all for being so patient with me and the care and concern you've showing in your comments... I'm so unbelievably grateful. Thank you also for the kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions I've received as well. So, I guess we'll dive right in, shall we?
> 
> Warning: Strong language in some areas and immense pain ahead.  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 18- Aftermath and Confrontations**

_How did this happen? What exactly just happened?_  Bellamy thought in a confounded daze.

He was back in the in the conference room... Ground zero it seemed, for the destruction of his whole world. He still felt bits of his heart crumbling from the aftershocks, unable to handle the weight of his complete despair and devastation. He was all alone in the conference room this time, slumped over in the same chair his angel had been sitting in previously when she was here, before everything had crashed and burned… His elbows were resting on his thighs and his hands were hanging, palms up, between his spread knees, his eyes just staring at them blankly as his mind frantically tried to make sense of the events that had gotten him to this point…

Bellamy's rational mind knew that to get the answers to his questions, he had to actually go over and process everything that had happened since walking into this very room the first time, what felt like years ago, but was in reality only an hour ago or so… But he couldn't. Not yet. He knew if he did, he'd break into a million pieces, losing the very last little piece of sanity he had left to oblivion.

Instead, his mind decided to torture him over and over again, replaying the last memory he had of her in his mind… Stuck in that one moment when his spark, his light, had left him. The way she held herself so regally and stiffly standing in the elevator trying desperately not to shatter like he knew she probably did when the doors closed… The way she'd hit the button and then turned to look at him, and only him, with those grief-stricken grey eyes, her eyes no longer containing an ounce of the blue hue he'd loved since the moment he'd seen them. The single tear sliding down her face as the doors closed sealing her off from him forever… It absolutely gutted him, all of it, and he descended further into nothingness. He knew commonsensically that his mind was exaggerating… He'd see her again, but his heart said it wouldn't be the same as before. Nothing would ever be the same as before. That last image of her, distraught and broken, would haunt him for eternity, he was sure of it.

He felt nothing though… No pain, no hurt, no sorrow. Just a hollow ache that was the only indicator something had gone so unbelievably, horribly wrong, and numbness… Pure blissful numbness.  _Shock…_ His subconscious whispered. Yes, he was in shock. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Bellamy knew that when the shock and numbness wore off, the agony he was going to feel would be excruciating… Nothing would ever compare to it and it would last and last, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All he could care about was that she was no longer his… He was no longer hers. They weren't together anymore… They weren't an 'it' anymore. He was he, and she was she, and they had no relationship… No connection. Not anymore.

Everything around him was hazy… He felt like he was submerged underwater, drowning, only hearing the last thumping beats of his heart as it beat wildly in his chest trying to keep going, to  _survive_ , to  _live_ , but unable to endure without her there to touch it in all her special little ways. He felt as though his physical heart was going to give out at any moment… That any beat would be its last, and she was no longer there to bring him back to life… How? How was he supposed to go on? How could he live without her? These questions flittered about in his numb mind, but Bellamy could muster no effort to answer them or come up with a plan… No, all Bellamy could seem to focus on was his open hands. Hands that once held her, comforted her, and kept her safe, were now tied, helpless and completely unable to do anything but wipe away her tears while she suffered at the hands of her parents and his father… The tears she had cried because her heart was broken, because she was hurt, were now staining his hands. It almost felt like blood coated his hands, but worse… Blood could be washed off, but her tears? No, those stayed, permanently, but invisibly, scaring and marking his skin, to where he was the only one to see them and feel that they were there. He alone suffered with the weight of them on his hands…

Suddenly a drop of water fell onto the palm of his right hand. Bellamy looked up, trying to find the source of the leak, when he felt water slid down his face. He raised his left hand and carefully touched his right check, pulling away to confirm… He was crying.

_CRYING?!_

He, Bellamy Blake, the cruelest, cold-hearted bastard that probably ever lived… Was  _crying_?

 _Yup…_ His subconscious snipped.  _Crying like a baby... Like a pansy. You've gone soft. I blame the woman. You better not let anyone see this… I'll kick your ass…_

Bellamy ignored the vexatious voice, too stunned… He must be worse off than he though if he was shedding tears. He hadn't cried since he was a child, yet here he was. Tears were falling from his eyes onto his hands, but for a good damn reason in Bellamy's opinion. He'd just lost the one good thing to happen in his entire miserable existence… The one person in this world he had opened up to and loved, who made him want to be a better man, who was making him a better man already just by being in his life… The light that had made him see the beauty in a world he only believed was full of darkness, and he'd lost her. He'd had her and then he lost her… To circumstance nonetheless. Actually, worse, he lost her to his son of a bitch half-brother, all because his father, his very own father, wanted it so, and forced her into it by hanging the lives of her family over her head…

The few tears stopped as quickly as they started, drying on his face as the last thought rung loudly in his ears… The numbness in his body was slowly flushed away by cold ice flooding his veins. He felt small flinches throughout his body as the ice took over… He felt cold. So cold. Bellamy watched as his open helpless hands clenched and begin to shake. The whooshing sound of his heartbeat in his ears picked up speed and grew louder and louder still. Bellamy could hear and focus on nothing else but the beats as they grew stronger and stronger, his heart knowing it now had a purpose to beat, to go on, and that purpose?  _Vengeance…_

The door to the conference room slammed opened, Abby, Jake, and Vanessa flooding into the room arguing loudly about Clarke's actions with Finn. Damian followed in their wake but was silent, having personally approved of his future daughter-in-law's actions. Bellamy didn't look up with all the commotion, too lost in his mind and the self-preservation emotions taking over his body. Damian was the one to notice his oldest son sitting in the room, giving no acknowledgement that he'd heard them enter the room.  _Something has been off with him the whole day…_  Damian mused as he walked over to his son to check on him. He put a hand on his shoulder, asking quietly, "Bellamy?"

Bellamy jerk away from the scorching hand and voice. "Don't touch me. Get away from me." He said distantly, standing and moving away from his stunned father… Being near him right now was causing Bellamy's skin to crawl and his stomach to roll with nausea. God, he felt so cold…

"What is going on with you?" Damian asked concerned, moving forward again, grabbing Bellamy's shoulder as he was retreating away from him. Bellamy turned suddenly, flinging his father's arm off his shoulder, and shoving him roughly way from him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He roared, catching the attention of the other occupants in the room, who all stopped arguing, turning toward the show down between father and son. Damian was taken aback by his son's outburst and appearance. He had red blood shot eyes with dark circles under them making him look so much older than the 28-year-old he actually was, and pale skin that was usually a rich tan color… Something was gravely wrong.

"Bellamy, son, what is wrong?" Damian implored of his most beloved child.

"You. You are what is wrong." Bellamy said, revulsion burning in his eyes for his father. "Y-you took her away from me…" Bellamy choked out, hardly believing the words he was saying, and having difficulty saying them. She truly wasn't his anymore, he  _knew_ that, but saying the words out loud made them more real and brought about a different, whole new world of understanding that sent a tidal wave of misery through him momentarily dazing him and breaking through his numb mind… And it was all because of Damian. That last thought was it, and brought about another realization. "I will never be able to forgive you for that." Bellamy said astonished, recognizing he honestly would never be able to forgive his father for doing this to her… to him…

"What? Who? Who are you talking about son?" Damian asked frantically. He didn't understand what Bellamy was talking about. His son was making no sense!

"I'm not your son." Bellamy spat automatically as a reflex, making Damian flinch with the venom in his voice. "Clarke… You took  _my_  Clarke away from me. Why? Why would you do that to her? She never did anything to you! Hell, she never did anything to deserve this treatment period. Yet, you forced her into a marriage to Finn the same way you were forced into a marriage to Vanessa? Why? I want to know why." Bellamy demanded.

"I didn't know about you both…" Damian tried to defend himself feebly.

"Would that have mattered?!" Bellamy yelled once more, not wanting to hear his father's bullshit. Damian was silent, knowing it wouldn't have. "That's right. Your excuses mean nothing to me. Tell me what I want to know. Why her. What plan did that demented mind come up with…" Bellamy sneered jabbing at his own temple harshly.

Damian sighed, his shoulders slumped as he sat down heavily in Bellamy's vacated chair. "I got some bad news about my heart a couple months back. If I don't change my lifestyle and eliminate some of the stress in my life, I'm headed right for a massive heart attack. A major stressor is Finn getting married and taking over the Family. I'm tired and ready to retire. He isn't ready to take over, and I realized he probably never will be, so I changed up my strategy for getting to my retirement quicker. If he can't run the Family, find him a wife that can. Basically have it run were Finn looks like he's the one in charge, but really have the wife calling all the shots. The wizard behind the screen if you will. Charlotte is perfect… They get married and then I can retire after a year or two more and she can run the Family. Later, when Jake retires, she'll take over his Family too and practically run the whole country." Damian finished. "She's strong, she's beautiful, and if even half of what I've heard about her skills are true, she'll make a ruthless Donna."

Bellamy could feel no remorse or care for his father's supposed woes. If anything they made him angrier. "So you decided to take away the rest of her life, a good 40-50-60 years, and shackle her to a title, job, husband, and life she doesn't want so you can retire and live a couple more years before you croak?!" Bellamy asked, distressed. "You selfish foolish man!" He roared. "You literally just did to her what your own father did to you…" Bellamy said, suddenly realizing how right Clarke truly was about being exactly like your parents. His father just did to Clarke what his own father before him did to him, and Bellamy was just like his mother in the situation… Like her, his precious love had been taken away from him and forced into an arranged marriage all so she could run a crime syndicate. History was repeating itself in the most brutal and vicious of ways. Irony was massive bitch…

"My mother would be so unbelievably disappointed and saddened by what you just did." Bellamy whispered disheartened, looking at his father, breaking the unspoken rule he and Damian had since he was a child to never talk about Aurora. Damian winced and paled at the words. "She gave up everything because of your father forcing you into an arranged marriage. She ran because you hid things. She refused to be your mistress or have me raised in this life. She died trying to protect me from all of this, and you just took away from me the only good thing, the only happiness, I have ever known since she died…" Damian's face was ashen hearing his son talk about Aurora, and even worse how she would be distraught with what he did.

"Uh… God. Not this woman again." Vanessa hissed with disdain lacing her voice. "I'm going home Damian, and taking our son with me. He's going to need to be taken care of after that horrible beating he took by that… That… Woman!" She said ferociously, turning and walking out that door.

"Of course he is…" Damian muttered sarcastically to himself, rolling his eyes even though his wife could no longer hear or see him. He turned his eyes back to Bellamy. "I'm so sorry son, for everything that I've done, but what's done is done… I would change it if I could, knowing what I know now, but I can't. I wish to God every day that your mother hadn't died. Had I found her and you, I would have killed Vanessa in a heartbeat to marry my Aurora."

Abby gasped behind them but Bellamy didn't care… Why would he? She was just another name on his 'Eventual Kill' list at this point. Names were really racking up these days… He might have to do something about that in the foreseeable future. After all, he would have a lot of spare time on his hands, and he was going to need something to keep him busy so he didn't go certifiably crazy.

"And that's why she never let us be found…" Bellamy said, disgust lacing his voice. "She was an innocent… Killing your wife for her? She would have never wanted that no matter how much she loved you! Vanessa's blood would have been on her hands, and my sweet mother never would have deserved that. It was a good thing you never found her… God knows how you would have broken her like you just did me."

"Aurora?" Abby asked, tears streaming down her face. "Aurora Blake? You knew her?" She asked in a small voice, looking at Damian.

"Yeah…" Damian said hanging his head. Talking about Aurora always drained him of energy… The weight of the grief that was still there after almost 30 years without her still devastated him. "We were together back when you both were in college. I used to see you with her coming out of classes, and she talked about you all the time… I recognized you the moment I saw you earlier. She used to say you were her best friend." He said rubbing his eyes tiredly. Abby sobbed, her eyes flickering to Bellamy.

"I-I know she d-died… I-I thought her s-son did too, but here you are." Abby said in a shaky voice, looking at him with something close to reverence or awe. Bellamy shot her a nasty glare… He'd deal with her after his father. He had one hell of a bone to pick with her, but he'd deal with one person at a time, and right now, the person in the frying pan burning was his father.

"I think I'll be taking a page out of Clarke's book today…" Bellamy said turning back to his father. "I'm done with you. You are dead to me. Dead… Do you understand?" Bellamy asked his eyes and voice vacant of any type of emotion.

Damian's face reddened. "No, you are not! I am you're father damn it!" He said outraged, standing up from his chair.

"You say that like it means something to me…" Bellamy said confused with a tilt of his head. "I've had too many father figures in my life, and I think it's about time I cleaned house. You're just the first to go. If I could leave the Family I would… Actually, I would have left a long time ago, but I know the rules. I've had other offers… Offers that would have allowed me to leave, offers that would have given me my own Family to run, I had options damn it, but I stayed! I stayed out of my good-for-nothing sense of loyalty to you, to Marcus, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing. Not a damn thing. I was thinking of leaving before I met Clarke. Actually the very day I met her, I was seriously thinking of leaving. She's what made me stay, she's what rooted me here and kept me here for the past month… And now you've taken her away, and along with her goes my allegiance. I no longer acknowledge you as anything but my Don, and even then, that's shaping up to look like it'll be changing pretty damn soon. I will never, I repeat, NEVER, serve that other little bitch of a son you have with your whore of a wife." Bellamy spat.

"Show some respect boy!" Damian yelled, taking a threatening step forward. "That's still my wife and son, and you're my son too. Nothing will ever change that. You will never leave me!" Bellamy didn’t miss the unspoken, ‘like your mother did’ lingering at the end of his tirade.

"YOU'RE WRONG." Bellamy roared, advancing on his father and grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, throwing him roughly against the wall and holding him there. "I will leave if I damn well please, but I'm not done talking, and you're obviously not listening very well." He hissed murderously. "You no longer have my respect, nor do you deserve it. Don't scold me like a child when you provoke me. You may be my father by blood… You may be the boss… You may be good at what you do… You may frighten others and have them cowering in fear…" Bellamy listed off. "But I'm better. Better with a gun and at what I do, better at rallying people to fight for me and whatever cause I promote, just a better man period." He whispered menacingly, with a maniacal glint in his eye Damian had never seen before, and the sad truth was… His son was right. Bellamy was better. Damian would never admit it, but he was frightened a bit in that moment by his son's attitude, words, behavior, and actions, but mostly by the truth of the words he was speaking. "Remember I'm better, and that you and whoever you love are at my mercy. You have no one to blame for all of this except for yourself, because I am the way I am because  _you_ made  _me_  that way, and you just forced my girl to leave me so she could save her family… Her fucking family! You are on thin ice… Best not to push the luck you don't have." Bellamy let his father go and took a step back, watching Damian brush the wrinkles of his suit jacket out, while he was watching Bellamy cautiously as though waiting for his son to strike again.

Bellamy scoffed and rolled his eyes at his father, before walking back over to his previous spot by the window. The rain still hadn't let up… It came down in torrents outside. Bellamy took a deep breath, and spoke once more once he had regained his calmness. "With all of that being said, from now on I'm your Underboss only. You call me with orders and nothing more. You don't show up at my house, club, or work… We do not associate ever outside of the Family, for any reason, as of this moment…" Bellamy stated clearly.

"Too many father figures?" Damian asked confused, that one thing sticking out most amongst the things his son had said to him. "What are you talking about? I am your only father, and nothing will ever change that Bellamy. My blood runs through your veins! You and your Uncle Marcus are close, yes, and he is a bit like a father figure, but he isn't your dad… Are you just going to cut him out to?"

"No, wrong again… He stays." Bellamy said monotonously. "After today, he's the only one I have any inclination to acknowledge, much less have a familial relationship with, and he's not even blood. The other thing you're wrong about is who I consider a father figure in my life… You and Uncle Marc aren't the only father figures I've had. In fact, the other man I've considered a father for a majority of my life is standing in this very room." Bellamy turned to look at Damian's shocked face, with a smirk adorning his own.

Damian's eyes widened and swung to Jake in astonishment. "Yes Damian…" Bellamy said coldly, reveling in finally revealing the truth to his father, and taking a sick sense of satisfaction that he was hurting his father with this information. "I've known Jake since I was 15 years old, and he found me after I killed Cage Wallace."

"He was there? He knows… Everything?" Damian asked stunned, looking back to Bellamy. Bellamy knew what he was trying to ask.

"Yes, unlike you, he knows exactly what happened with Cage Wallace… He knows everything whereas you don't. He found me in a diner after everything happened and gave me some pretty great guidance. Who do you think clued me in as to you and Marcus setting me up to kill Cage and joining the Family? Did you think that I just had a moment of enlightenment? Snapped my fingers, and had a light bulb that went off telling me it was you two who forced my hand? No, my naive young self was too trusting of you both to figure it out on my own…" Bellamy said, his voice hard and cold.

"I can't believe this…" Damian shaking his head in disbelief.

"Believe it…" Bellamy said, having no compassion or feelings of remorse for what he was doing and saying to his father… Yet another side effect of being numb to the real deep emotions that weren't anger, hate, disgust, and detestation. "Don't worry, Jake has his coming to him for the part he played in all of this. Now, I need you to leave… You and I have nothing further to say to each other, so leave now while you still can."

"No…" Damian said stubbornly to his son. "We are not done! I'm not leaving 'til we fix this!"

"DON'T YOU GET IT?!" Bellamy bellowed, his cool demeanor once again breaking under the mere weight of his father's suffocating presence. "There is nothing you can do or say to me that will fix this unless you let Clarke out of the deal…"

"I can't do that!" Damian said pleadingly taking a step towards his son, his hands held out to him in a gesture beseeching forgiveness. "Anything else and it's yours… A new car, more money, I'll introduce you to someone else. ANYTHING! I don't get what's so special about this one girl Bellamy… You've never been attached to anyone. I just don't understand…"

"You don't need to understand…" Bellamy said, repulsion for his father at that moment lacing his voice as his cool façade slipped back into place. It was stupid to have let that one sliver of hope creep in when he knew what his father's answer would be, but he was powerless to stop it, and now he was even more crushed, because that's what hope does… It crushes and destroys people… Eviscerating them until nothing is left. "If you only knew the extent of the pain you have caused today by your selfish, self-serving actions… If you only knew how I'm barely hanging on to a thread right now in an attempt not to murder you and them…" He said pointing to a solemn, despondent Jake and a tearful Abby, who was quietly shaking with silent sobs, both taking in the heart-breaking scene between father and son. "You wouldn't be standing before me right now trying to argue a case you don't have that I don't want to hear, offering things I care nothing for, and trying to fix a situation by any other means and solutions, except for the one that will make everything right. My mother, the one you claim to have loved so much and think about every day, would be revolted and thoroughly disgusted by you and what you've done today. Would you have wanted a car, or money, or maybe even a new man offered to her in compensation for losing you?" Bellamy asked, his words hitting Damian hard, making him flinch. "Everything, absolutely everything, about Clarke Griffin, is special… Something my mother probably thought of you at one point, and now, like she did, I have to learn to live without that special person in my life… Because YOU took her away from me." He hissed menacingly, making Damian recoil from his son like he's just been struck in the face.

Bellamy took a moment to breathe and swallow down the emotions threatening to break free with the words he'd just spoken… He couldn't think of any of that just yet. He wasn't alone, and he still had things to do and people to confront. "I have literally nothing else to say to you but get the hell out, don't come back, and heed my words or there will be consequences." Bellamy said monotonously to his father. Any trace of emotion in his voice was nonexistent.

Damian did as his son bid him, not wishing to upset him further or push him closer the edge he was so obviously teetering on, so he took his leave leaving behind a quiet promise. "This isn't over."

"Yes it is." Bellamy murmured back lowly looking out the window once again, wondering where Clarke was, what she was doing, IF she was even doing okay… He certainly wasn't.

The door shut with a slam, plunging the room into a heavy smothering silence. Suddenly the sound of heels clacking drew near, and stopped right beside him. He dared not turn his head to look at the vile woman standing beside him, for fear of doing something he might regret, like pimp slapping her, or throwing up all over her… Either way, he couldn't be held liable for his actions because her presence and the smell of her perfume had his palm itching and stomach rolling simultaneously. 50/50 chance on the outcome.

"Bellamy, please…" She said quietly. He saw out of the corner of his eye her hand rise, as though to touch his arm, but before she could Bellamy jerked away from her like she's burned him. He felt as though she physically would have burned him if she had actually touched him…

"Don't…" He said lowly. "Just don't."

"I just- please." She begged. For what he didn't know. "I know you don't know me, but I knew your mom… I was close with your mom. We were best friends! Surely she must have mentioned me once or twice… I mean she was coming to see me with you when she was… Taken from us-"

"No…" Bellamy interrupted hotly. "She was taken from me, and me alone. She wouldn't know you… How could my kind sweet, loving mother, know someone like you?" He asked her with disdain.

Things once again clicked into place… His mother had been taking them to see an Abigail Scott in Seattle who had married and had a daughter, only a few years younger than him. Hindsight permitted Bellamy to see that Abigail Scott had become Abigail Griffin when she married Jake Griffin the crime boss, and the little girl was Clarke. It seems his mother was unknowingly running from one mafia Family strait into the arms of another all those years ago. Bellamy's subconscious whispered,  _Jake… Jake might have known everything from the beginning._  Bellamy added that to the mental list of things to confront Jake about… His turn was up next.

"What-What are you saying?" Abby asked tearfully once again, drawing Bellamy out of his thoughts, not believing or understanding what he was saying to her.

"My mother…" Bellamy spoke clearly, calmly, and slowly to her making sure she understood the words coming out of his mouth so he didn't have to repeat them. "-was the most compassionate, loving, devoted, caring mother to have ever existed. She gave up everything for me, for my safety, to give me a better life… She both, literally and metaphorically, gave up her life for me. She loved me with such strength and spirit, I never once doubted her love for me, even to this very day, and she's been dead going on 20 years now. She told me I could be whatever I wanted to be, as long as it made me happy. She encouraged me, constantly telling me how proud of me she was. Tell me, how can a mother like that identify with and be best friends with a woman who is such a harsh, cruel, and unforgiving mother? I repeat… She wouldn't know you. Hell, I don't even see the person she told me about. The best friend my mother had and told me about was a warm, affectionate, gentle person who would never put her daughter down, demean her, and force her to do things that made her daughter unhappy just because she wanted to control her like a rag-doll."

"I'm not… I don't…" Abby said, weeping, trying to defend herself, but failed due to her blubbering.

"The first thing I heard coming from your mouth was you criticizing you're children for being late. No ounce of worry or concern that they could be lost or hurt, just sharp rebuking. You didn't say hello, or greet your children, especially your daughter that I know for a fact you haven't seen in almost three months. Hell, you didn't react to your daughter's presence in any type of way but to grimace at her as if she were the gum on your shoe. When Clarke asked a valid question, to her father by the way, you jumped in to mock her and belittle her, calling her ignorant and deaf, all in front of me, someone you considered at that time to be a stranger to you and your family! You constantly call her Charlotte, not caring or just ignoring the fact that she curls in on herself every time she hears it, all so you can, what? Spite her? Be vindictive? Prove you're the boss and in control? SHE HATES BEING CALLED CHARLOTTE!" He bellowed. Bellamy felt himself getting more and more worked up just thinking about all of this that he'd just witnessed a couple of hours ago. "You DAUGHTER was going through a major crisis in here earlier, feeling hurt and betrayed by her father and brother, and all you could do was continually make the situation about you, and your problems with her. Hell, you even ratted Lincoln out, and burned the last bridge she had to a stable relationship within her family. The sad thing is… She expected you not to tell her anything about what was going on. She expected you to keep secrets. She knew you wouldn't lift a finger to include her, or help her, and she wasn't. Even. Phased." Bellamy hissed. Abby couldn't look him in the eye, whether out of shame or fear, Bellamy neither knew nor cared not. He continued though.

"I'm not even going to go into how despicable you are for forcing her to become a doctor… Yet another thing she did to make you happy. Even when she was in the middle of getting the degree you wanted her to get, you couldn't even give her something she wanted… Something that would have made her happy. How could you try and force her to give up her art? She's a brilliant artist, with so much talent, it almost hurts that she feels it's not worth anything… Not good enough to be shared with the world, and that's on you. You destroyed any confidence she had in her art, and closed her off from sharing it with anyone that wasn't her father and brother. Would an Art minor in college really have been the worst thing in the world for her to want for herself? But despite you sucking out everything good about becoming a doctor, she prevailed… She loves and is great at what she does, and again, it's all despite you, not because of you."

Abby's hands came up to cover her face as she shook with full body sobs. Jake stood in the background, his head hanging from his stiff shoulders. Bellamy hope these words affected him just as much as they affected Abby because, honestly, Jake allowed her to treat Clarke like this. How the sweet, beautiful, adoring person that he knew was Clarke Griffin, became like that with these two for parents, is perhaps one of the greatest mysteries Bellamy ever tried, and failed, to solve.

Bellamy didn't let up though… He was on a role, and Abby's pathetic cries only egged him on. "I never wanted to meet you… Ever. I even told your husband I never wanted to meet you because you were such an awful person. I hated you before I met you. I hated you before I knew what your face looked like. Hell, I hated you before I even knew what your name was. I don't ever take the time to hate anyone, because it takes up too much time and energy… But for you? For you, I make the exception. You're the exception because of the sad and dejected, but resigned, face your daughter wears every time she talks about you. You're the exception because she goes so far to avoid you… Moving across the country to get away from you and making sure to never pick up the phone without looking at the caller ID first. Lastly, you're the exception because of what you just forced her to do, then having the nerve to tell her you're disappointed in her when she wants nothing to do with you for ripping away the happiness she created for herself?! You are a bitter, bitter woman, who can allow no one around you any type of happiness because you yourself aren't happy, and God only knows and cares why you aren't happy. I, personally, hope to God I never have to see your face again, but knowing him, that would be too kind... I can't see him granting me this one small thing, seeing as how he’s had it out for me all my life."

Abby's cries had died down, listening to the truth Bellamy had been spewing at her, her face growing paler and paler to the point where she looked like a corpse… Bellamy turned to leave the room, just so done with the woman, but stopped once more as she pleaded with him again. "Please Bellamy! I thought you were dead for so long! I didn't even know what she had named you! I thought your name was Aleczander… That's why I didn't know who you were right away. You look so much like her! That's what had me so shocked when I first saw you, but the names didn't add up, even though your last name was Blake, and you were supposedly dead. God, it almost hurts to look at you because I can only see her in you. You're all that's left of her, and I miss her so much, please just give me a chance… A chance to explain some things and to get the truth about what happened! I am so sorry for what just happened in here, and that you're hurt by it! I would change it if I could! Please just look at me, talk to me, let me talk to you…" She begged shamelessly.

"A chance from me?" Bellamy scoffed disbelievingly, turning to stare at the mess of a woman, make-up running all over her face, mixing with snot and tears. He felt nothing but cold hatred for her. He couldn't bring himself to muster up any feelings of pity or sympathy… She simply didn't deserve it. None of what she was saying made any sense anyway, but Bellamy had a gut feeling it was Jake's fault for Abby's confusion regarding who he was and what happened to him.

"My name," Bellamy said coldly. "Is Bellamy  _Alexander_  Blake." He said putting special emphasis on his middle name, so she could hear both the similarity and difference between it and the other name. "I don't know why you thought I was dead, or why my name was Aleczander. I have never been called Aleczander in my life. I don't want to hear your excuses and reasons for why you are the way you are, or your side of things… All I care about is that you're a part, a small part, but a part none the less, of the reason that I don't have my girl anymore! I don't get to leave here and go to see her and hold her and kiss her anymore because you and your husband gave her away like she was less than the extraordinary, brilliant, compassionate, funny person that she is. You, specifically, made it pretty fucking clear earlier that Clarke had no chance, choice, or say in what she was going to do in regards to that deal. Why should I give you a chance that you didn't give her? I have no chances left to give, because my chance has been viciously ripped away from me… My one and only chance to be happy walked out about an hour ago, and with her so did your chance to explain things." Bellamy stated bitterly. "You will find no kindness, understanding, or sympathy here Mrs. Griffin, certainly not from me after how you've treated your daughter. None could possibly exist for you, not after what you've done…" He said apathetically.

And with those final word, Bellamy turned and left, walking straight to his office, ignoring the sobs coming from the conference room behind him. He walked into his office, slamming the door behind him, and taking a deep breath. He walked to his couch, sitting down heavily, not having the strength to stand anymore. The ache in his chest was steadily growing worse and worse… It was borderline painful now whereas it was merely uncomfortable before. The numbness was fading, wearing off, and seeping out of him fast, even as Bellamy stubbornly clung to it knowing once it was it was gone, it would be gone forever, and he would endlessly suffer, never to escape the torment her absence would bring about. Bellamy hunched over trying to futilely ease the discomfort in his chest, resting his elbows on his knees, one hand clenched his hair painfully, while the other rubbed his eyes despairingly.

His office door opened slowly, but Bellamy didn't have to look up or open his eyes to know who walked into the room. Once the door was closed with a click, the room was plunged into silence, only the sound of breathing disturbing the peace… Peace, such a fragile thing. A fragile thing he'd only known when holding his beautiful blonde guardian angel in his arms. Such a fragile thing that was now gone, never to return to him, because she was no longer his, and never would be again.

"I told you I'd take care of it for you…" Bellamy stated hoarsely, his voice breaking on the words, and slicing through the silence that had gripped the room. "I distinctly remember telling you I'd have it handled in a week, and all you had to do was give the word, and I'd be there… I also remember you telling me no, that you had it handled, that it would all be fine, that it would be easy even, and that you had done things like this before… What the ever living fuck happened?" Bellamy asked dropping his hands to look up at the man he considered his second father, his mentor, his friend… And not seeing any of them. Only seeing the man who stepped aside and allowed his only daughter to give herself up for him and his prideful mistakes to ensure he didn't die because of said mistakes. Bellamy barely even noticed Lincoln was in the room as well.

"Bellamy, I-" Jake started, but stopped… So Bellamy picked up the conversation and carried on.

"You did nothing… You said nothing… Both about how bad things really were, and in regard to Clarke exchanging herself for the stuff you needed to win this war. You didn't even try to stop her! You, Mr. Lying-Is-Only-For-A-Man-Who-Is-Afraid, lied to your daughter, the daughter you supposedly adored and loved like crazy, about practically everything! Worse, you continued to lie and withhold stuff, even as you were asking her to acquiesce to that marriage deal, all to save face, your pride, and your skin!" Bellamy said revolted. "You could have taken my offer… Reached out and accepted the helping hand I was offering you, but you didn't and now you've lost a daughter, and more importantly, I've lost the love I never knew I wanted much less needed! I have nothing, absolutely nothing, without her! I can barely stand to be in your presence right now, much less look at you." Bellamy said looking away from the distraught older man. Bellamy stood and walked over to the windows behind his desk.

Just a few short hours ago, standing in this very place, the biggest problem on his hands was how Clarke was going to take finding out about everything he'd kept a secret, and worrying whether or not she was going to leave him because of it. Now, he was looking at the endless abyss that was his life without her, and it wasn't because she didn't accept him for who he was… No, she had accepted him, and there was no doubt in his mind that she would have stayed with him despite who he was, except she ended up having to leave him to save her family. In the span of an hour he'd went from the happiest man alive to one who lost greatest thing to have ever happened to him. He'd lost his princess. His angel.

This morning, when he'd woken up to  _her,_ he'd woken up with so much hope and joy. He had just so much indescribable happiness that would have simply seemed too good to be true if it hadn't actually been happening to him… If he hadn't actually been feeling that very happiness. Everything had been fine… It had been more than fine actually, it had been perfect. Except…

It  _had_  actually been too good to be true…

It had been  _too_  perfect…

He should have known. He should have known they were running out of time… Borrowed time at that. Hindsight was truly everything. Hindsight now revealed how he'd  _known_  things would crash and burn… The uneasy feeling he'd had all week was his clue, a clue he hadn't understood at the time, but did now. Oh boy did he now…

"Bellamy…" Jake said gruffly, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… If I could change things, I would in a heartbeat-"

"That's right." Bellamy spat venomously over his shoulder, cutting Jake off. "You're  _sorry._  Everyone is so fucking  _sorry_. But being sorry and wishing you can change things isn't going to actually change things, now is it? It's not going to bring us back together. I still lost her, and it is still you, Damian, and Abby's fault. The next person to tell me how sorry they are, or how much they wish things were different but won't lift a finger to actually change things, will meet the barrel of my gun, and I will create my own change."

"Look, just-just give me some time to think of something… Some loop hole. Anything!" Jake pleaded.

"There is no loop hole! It seems pretty damn cut and dry to me. Damian won't let her out of that contract… You heard him!" Bellamy snarled, turning to face the older man. "You get your supplies, she marries Finn… End of story! If you back out, Clarke is as good as dead, and you know that. You'll get your supplies immediately while the wedding takes time to prepare. If you back out after you get the weapons and stuff, not only will Clarke be in trouble, most likely dead, but you will have started a war that will span across the whole damn country!"

"What do I do?" Jake asked broken. Bellamy turned back to the window, not being able to look at the defeated man while he continued talking. It was sickening… Part of Bellamy hated that the older man was in pain, but the other part, the more vindictive part, relished in his pain for is was so rightfully deserved for what he did. "I have to get Lottie out of this… I have to get my daughter back! I can't have her hating me for rest of our lives over this… It's not worth it! I'd rather die than have her hate me forever."

"You should have thought of that before you waltzed in here and allowed my father to steam roll her! You should have thought of that before you said nothing to stop her from agreeing to the deal! It's too little, too fucking late!" Bellamy spat. "Oh yeah!" He said, the mental note coming back to remind him of something. "What the hell was your wife raving about? Did you know who I was all those years ago?" Bellamy asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked confused.

"Did you know my mother was Aurora Blake, your wife's best friend?" Bellamy clarified impatiently.

"I-"Jake stopped, and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and rubbing them wearily. He turned and sat on the couch Bellamy had just vacated. "Yes, I knew. I knew who your mom was and that you survived the robbery that took her life. I actually helped to cover up some of what happened. I faked your death, so that's why Abby thought you were dead. That's the story I spun in the media a month or so after her death, so no one would ever come looking for you to testify, or come after you for what you saw. At the time, Wallace had several powerful allies and friends, and I worried about them coming after you. The store clerk was put into witness protection after everything happened, so it was best if you disappeared too, but in a more final way. After your uncle came for you and took you home, I erased everything that could lead them to you. Aurora Blake's son Aleczander Blake, or just Alec, died from a horrible allergic reaction to a sedative given to him in the hospital for a panic attack after he was transported there to be checked over for injuries. At least that's what the records show. Records also show he was accidentally cremated, so there is no body, and the reason there isn't a grave right beside your mother's. I created this fake person to take your place, so you were safe. Everything was erased, leaving enough to prosecute Wallace and put him in prison, but you know how well that went. I kept an eye on you kid. Always have." Jake said the last two sentences softly.

Bellamy continued to stare blankly out the window at the city blanketed by dark angry clouds while his mind spun out of control with the new information… Funny because his mind too was blanketed by dark clouds, swirling and churning the emotional storm in his mind further. The dam of his emotions had not yet broken… Not yet. It was only a matter of time though, and when it did, it would wash away all the blissful numbness leaving him drowning in foreign emotions he'd never before felt, or hadn't felt in a very long time… Since he was a child. Jake continued talking though before Bellamy could speak or truly comprehend any of the information he was being hit with.

"Then you showed up eight years later on my door step, and handled Cage Wallace like a pro, and that's when I knew you'd chosen your dad's lifestyle. I was so proud of you for picking your crew the way you did kid. I knew I wanted you to take over my Family the minute I met you, officially that is, and I've been grooming you to do just that ever since… You weren't born to take orders kid; you were born to give them. It's unbecoming of you, and a waste of so much potential to see you as just an Underboss, never to rise to the boss status. I held out for you and was waiting 'til you got fed up enough with the bullshit going on over here, to finally decide to come home to where you belong… Where you're appreciated and respected. I was willing to wait longer for you to come to this conclusion on your own, except… Well, today happened. I, honest to God, never thought that your father would make this deal. I had no defense, nothing else to offer that he wanted, that would have made him change his mind. He asked me whether or not Lincoln was taking over, and I told him no, that he was my Underboss, and that's where he wanted it to stay, but that I had someone else in mind for the job, meaning you, and that's when he told me about his plan. I told him no of course, I fought for you without giving away your name, because at the time he didn't know you and I knew each other. I tried kid, but I had nothing left but to agree. I couldn't just get up and walk out, accept your help, have you disappear for a few weeks and then have the news come out that everything was fine and we had won. It would have looked sketchy, and I didn't want you hurt. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe is some little way." Bellamy stiffened, and shoved the confusion aside as the last sentence repeated once more in his mind.

"So," Bellamy said softly, slowly turning to look Jake dead in the eye. "You gave up your only daughter… For me?" Jake flinched at the words and began to shake his head no, while Bellamy felt bile crawling up his throat at the thought, knowing Jake was saying it because he believed it to be the truth, but pushed it down, continuing to speak. "Who do you think you are?" Bellamy asked so lowly and slowly, so absolutely menacingly, Lincoln took a step back while Jake shifted on the couch away from the younger man whose hands had begun to shake in what looked to be barely suppressed utter rage. "You broke your promise to your daughter and tore her heart out… You tore us apart, right after we  _just_  found each other… You ripped her, my love, away from me, and fed her to the beast, and now you want to tell me it was all for me? All for my protection and for my well-being? I think you’re mistaken old man…" Jake smarted at the old nickname once said with reverence and awe, now said with malice. "You decided to play God, and it back fired on you… Badly. You didn't want to accept any help, not from me, not even from your daughter, who was your family for Christ's sake, until it was too late. Then you waltz in and say you did it the dastardly deed in the end to protect  _me_?"

"No!" Jake implored. "That's not what I meant-" He continued talking, but Bellamy wasn't listening… Not really.

Bellamy stood there for a moment froze in place, distraught, thinking,  _Why? Why was it no one would choose her first?_  Her family certainly hadn't, but then again, was there a way out of this? Could he still find a way to get her, choose her first, and not kill everyone or get everyone killed? Then it came to him. "Fine, I'll do it." He said finally, cutting Jake off in the middle of what he was saying.

"Do what?" Jake asked wearily.

"I'll take over your Family and then you give me Clarke so she doesn't have to marry Finn. I'll defect, and move west to Seattle. I'll move my company, my crew… I'll take over your Family, and all the bullshit that comes along with it, including your war, and in return, I get Clarke. She won't have to marry anyone, and she'll be free to do as she pleases, the only stipulation is she'll have to move back to and live in Seattle near me and have a constant 24/7 guard for protection. She'll be under no obligation to anyone, including me, to do anything, including forgiving your sorry ass. Do you understand?" Bellamy asked, his shoulders slumping down, weighed down by the burden of the feat he had just undertook… The moving, the threats, and people that would come after him, the pressure of becoming a boss, something he never really wanted, would all be worth it, all of the shit he was going to go through would be worth it, if it meant he had a chance to be with Clarke again. Hopefully, they could pick up right where they left off, and it would be fine, everything would be fine. Right?

"That's not going to work…" Lincoln said lowly, speaking up for the first time since entering the room with his father. "She'll never go for it, not after she gave her word to Damian. Dad taught us that you're nothing if you break your word, and we live by that code… Both of us. You have to come up with something else, because I'm telling you now, she'll never break that contract and go back on her word, not unless Finn does something to break the deal first."

"There is nothing else to do then…" Bellamy murmured back, and it was the soul crushing truth. "Damian is going to have Finn on a tight leash to make sure he doesn't do anything that could render the contract null and void." There were no other options. It was Bellamy's plan or the original deal. "Why wouldn't it work? Other than her giving her word?" Bellamy asked Lincoln.

"She would never go for it because it would put you and us in danger. She cares nothing for herself and the danger she'd be in, but you deserting and going rogue would paint a massive target on your back, not to mention me and our parents would be in danger as well. She just gave up everything for us to be safe… She'd have a fit if that was threatened, and I'm sure she'd disappear without a trace or do something rash to make sure your plan never happened." Lincoln explained.

Bellamy sighed heavily in disappointment… Once again, hope crushed him. There was a reason only hope was left in Pandora's Box after all the other evil things had been released into the world… It's because hope is by far the evilest and cruelest of things, easily capable of crushing humanity, and there was no way to fight it. It had the ability to annihilate a man, and leave him existing as nothingness, which is how Bellamy felt at that very moment realizing there was literally nothing he could do that would keep everyone safe while also allowing them to be together.

Then, another disastrous thought occurred to him, another blow to the heart really… He wasn't her dark knight. Not really. If he was, he would do  _everything_  within his power to get her back, to save her from this, seeing as how she couldn't save herself from this mess. He'd kidnap, threaten, maim, and kill everyone who got in his way, and he'd steal her away for himself, taking her off grid so no one would ever find them, and then, only then, could they live the rest of their lives together and be happy. But the heartbreaking thing was… He couldn't do that.

He couldn't kill his father or Jake, no matter how much he loathed both of them at that moment for the roles they played in this disaster, because  _she_ wouldn't want that and it would hurt her that he killed them for her, so she could be happy. He couldn't abandon his dear grandmother and break her heart when she was an innocent in all of this… It would surely kill her losing him. He couldn't desert his men and sentence them to the torture, war, and eventual death they would face in the wake of his actions… He could never forsake them, they were his family, and they were loyal to him. They trusted him to take care of them, and he'd never break that trust. He also couldn't allow thousands of men, and probably women and children as well, to die all because of his selfish actions. He'd never be able live with that kind of guilt. He could never let people die needlessly in a war that he would spark the embers of… He just couldn't, no matter how much he loved her, and that is what hurt him more than anything.

As much as it shattered him, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few in this case. He had to put everyone else's needs above his own… Above hers, and he would never be able to forgive himself for that. For being weak like that. He couldn't be the man she needed… He couldn't put her first and be the man she deserved. Because of that, because of his short-comings, she was stuck with Finn for the rest of her life, and that broke him in more ways than one.

Bellamy suddenly felt weak, both physically and mentally. Just oh so weak… He was vulnerable to, well, everything. He felt like there was a gaping hole in his chest, and he was bleeding out where he stood. His Achilles heel, his beautiful love, had been damaged, hurt, and brutally ripped apart at the seams, and now he was dying as a result, ever so slowly… His chest constricted and his throat closed up. He couldn't breathe anymore, and he couldn't bear to support himself anymore, so he let go… Bellamy fell to one knee, his hands coming up automatically to support himself on the window, his eyes shut tight, his head bowed while his mind raced with all his thoughts and memories before they were all drowned out by the memory of her beautiful sad face, so distraught with that one tear sliding down her pale cheek. He could still hear her sobs as she clung to him, her begging him not to hate her echoing in his ears.  _Oh my love…_ He thought distressed.  _It is you who should hate me._ He could still feel her soft warm lips on his own, kissing him goodbye, with the taste of her tears mingling with his own.

Bellamy vaguely felt hands on him, dragging him up into an office chair and voices talking to him, but he couldn't comprehend what they were saying. He didn't care… Not anymore. He still felt like he couldn't breathe and was gasping for air desperately. He felt so cold, both on the inside and the outside, and he felt as though needles made of ice were being jabbed into his skin all over his body. The ache in his chest grew to a sharp acute stabbing pain… He hunched over and brought a shaky hand up to rub his chest right over his heart in an attempt to lessen the horrible pain. That's when he felt it. The pendant… He hadn't taken it off since she'd given it to him. He quickly reached up to his collar and pulled the chain out from under his shirt, clenching the little oval object in his fist. It was warm in his hand… He didn't have to look at it to remember the words she'd had engraved on the metal, for they were engraved in his very being.

_For a good man both in name and deed. You are so special to me._

_You are so special to me…_

_Special to me…_

Suddenly, the vise around his chest loosened and he could breathe… He still felt cold, and his chest still throbbed with pain, but he could breathe, all because of her, because of the way she had made him feel, both then and now. He still felt that same love for her, still so new and recently discovered, but already running so deep that he knew he'd never get over her. Ever.

"Bellamy…" Jake said, still trying to call him back to himself. Lincoln rushed over to the two men with a bottle of water and thrust it into Bellamy's free hand, silently demanding he drink. Bellamy took two sips of the water, and immediately wanted to spit it back out. While it felt good on his dry throat, it tasted like liquid metal in his mouth… Like the coppery taste of blood. It wasn't what he really wanted anyway… He wanted Clarke. She was the best type of medicine, the balm that soothed his wounded soul and made everything better. Just a smile, or a brush of her finger tips could erase all his pain, but she was gone now, so he was going to settle for the next best thing when he could get to it.

"Bellamy, listen I-" Jake started again, but Bellamy raised a hand stopping him from speaking, feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, Bellamy saw Jasper's name on the caller ID. Bellamy instantly sent the call to voicemail. He couldn't tolerate his guy's craziness at the moment… Almost immediately Monty started calling him. Bellamy again sent the call to voicemail. When Lucca called, Bellamy started to grow worried, but not enough to answer. It was when Antonio called right after he rejected Lucca's call that Bellamy picked up.

"What?" Bellamy asked monotonously, his head down, not having the strength to lift it up anymore.

"BOSS!" Antonio yelled frantically over the commotion in the background. Bellamy was immediately alarmed with the loud yelling and what sounded like a gunshot in the back ground. "Boss, come quick, its-" Antonio's voice was suddenly drowned out by the increasing crescendo in shouting. "-got a gun and is going after-" His voice came back but was once again cut off by what sounded like Diego in the background yelling for someone to duck, and the sound of another gun shot. It sounded suspiciously like Miller's name that was called… Antonio suddenly came back on the line, out of breath, and said one word. "Club." Before the line went dead, leaving Bellamy with an ever growing hollow pit of despair and fear growing in his chest, and adrenaline surging through his veins. His guys were in trouble, and he wasn't there with them. Bellamy was up out of his chair, in the blink of an eye.

"I've got to go. Get out of town and don't come back 'til you’re summoned, and take your terrible wife with you." He said to Jake monotonously, before turning to Lincoln. "Stay, go… It makes no difference to me. I care not either way."

Without another word to either men, Bellamy was gone out the door. All he could think as he went is,  _Will this never end?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my dears... I know I usually ask a butt load of questions, but I only really have a few this chapter.
> 
> 1.) What was your favorite confrontation? Damian, Abby or Jake, and why...
> 
> 2.) How did I do with Bellamy, his thoughts, and his pain?
> 
> 3.) If you have a favorite line or quote from this chapter, or maybe even your favorite line/quote from the story, (I would love both if you got 'em) I'd like to know what it is, and who said it... Just call it a bit of research.
> 
> I wanted to take a moment and express to all my readers who have been impacted by the terrorist attacks in France, how much my heart aches and hurts for all of you. Everyone last one of you are in my thought and prayers.
> 
> SPOILERS for next chapter: More aftermath. Bellamy rushes to help the guys with their situation... Except, things aren't as they initially appeared. Bellamy finally loses it and Clarke's in trouble. Bellamy unintentionally makes it worse, but Lincoln swoops in to save the day.
> 
> I still am shaky on my updating, but I'm desperately hoping to shoot for a November 27th update date. I figure its after the holiday, so everyone will be able to read, and it gets us back to our Friday update day. Oh! One more thing I wanted to ask you all... How would you all feel about one, ONE, chapter being in Clarke's pov, later on down the line? I can't wait to hear from you all!  
> -Redhead17x


	19. Loyalty Amidst Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my darlings... First off, I am so sorry for such a long wait. I had just so much stuff happen since the last time I update, its been really rough to try and write while its all been going on. If you wanna know details, I'll tell you in the A/N at the end, so read that. Now on to the story.
> 
> No real warnings that I can think of...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 19- Loyalty Amidst Betrayal**

The normal 20-minute drive to the club seemed liked the longest in his life, even as he cut the drive down to 15 by speeding. Bellamy had never been more frustrated that he lived in crowded New York City than he had in those 15 minutes with the ridiculous stop and go street lights. He pounded the dash more than once, when a light went from green, to a quick yellow, and then to a halting red in the span of mere seconds.

All he could think of was how his guys were in trouble and he wasn’t there. He had no idea what had happened, or how long it had been happening for… Maybe this was the reason Murphy hadn’t picked up Katie’s call earlier? But that couldn’t be right… That had happened way earlier in the morning. Something just wasn’t adding up.

As soon as Bellamy was within a block of the club, he started looking for anything out of the normal… Anything suspicious. Except, there wasn’t anything. No suspicious looking vans or SUVs… No cop cars, marked or un-marked… Everything was pretty quiet for a Sunday. Which could be good or bad… Bellamy wasn’t getting any weird vibes or anything either, but that still didn’t mean something wasn’t wrong. There were gunshots on the phone right? What had Antonio said? Someone had a gun… No name as to who… and was going after- Who? He hadn’t said. _Damn it!!_ He thought frustrated.

As a precaution, Bellamy parked a little ways down the street from the club. He checked his gun to make sure he was properly armed and grabbed another clip from his stash in the hidden compartment of his car before locking up and dashing down the street to his club, still alert and watchful for any threats… But again, he wasn’t finding any. No one on the roof tops, no one lurking around any buildings, in alley ways, or on street corners… Literally everything looked fine. Actually, the only real anomaly was his crazy ass running down the street in a business suit like there was a building on fire somewhere.

As he drew near the club, Bellamy slipped around to the side to the entrance that opened into the basement. He started to doubt himself as he typed in the code behind the brick paneling and scanned his palm on the scanner… What if he was too distracted and someone followed him or he missed something important? Could he be losing his touch? Was he losing his mind? He didn’t feel like he was being watched or was in any danger, but they had sounded like they were in trouble. His subconscious shook its head at him… _Trust your gut, trust your instincts, and trust what the surroundings are telling you…_

If that was true, then his gut was telling him nothing was _really_ wrong. The surroundings were saying nothing was wrong either, but his instincts still said proceed with caution. Not for the first time that day Bellamy thought, _Something isn’t right,_ but he did as his instincts bid and proceeded with caution. Once he was in the club’s security office, having come through the book case from the basement, he took a quick look at the monitors which were picking up the feeds from the cameras around the first and second floors.

Nothing… Not a soul in sight, but again, that was only on the first and second floors. There was a whole separate security system on the third floor with a separate office monitoring the cameras on that floor. Bellamy quickly hacked into the third floor feeds from the office, something Antonio had taught him how to do when the whole thing was set up. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw. It simultaneously had him going cold all over again and burning with rage.

Bellamy stood and walked out of the room heading for the elevator. He jabbed the button and walked in as it opened immediately. He hit the button for the third floor with his fist… Perhaps he used more force than was probably necessary, but he didn’t care. Once the doors opened on the third floor Bellamy took a deep breath… He needed _patience_ before he wound up stringing his guys up in a tree by their balls.

He walked down the hall and stood in front of the door to The House. The sound of yelling and cursing reached his ear. Bellamy just stood there for a moment listening to it all through the door.

“Not the TV!!” Jasper yelled, right before thump and crash was heard.

More yelling... A gun shot… “THE X-BOX!!” Lucca wailed.

“No-no-no-no!” Monty shouted. “You can NOT touch the PlayStation! Throw something else at him! You already threw the Wii and stabbed the vintage Nintendo Game Cube.” He said crossly before the sound of running was heard followed by something breaking… More glass breaking… More fabric ripping… More incoherent yelling…

Bellamy took as step forward, his hand hovering over the door knob… Did he really want to do this? Like, REALLY do this? The answer was a resounding no, but it had to be done before someone really got hurt. With a flick of his wrist, the door knob turned and the door swung open to reveal what was once a fun game room/man cave turned into the war zone for what looked like World War Three. Pillows were in shreds all over the room and the huge L-shaped couch didn’t look much better off… The feathers from said couch and pillows were literally everywhere, some still falling down like snow. Books from the bookshelf were strewn across the room, most of them lying on the floor by the walls… If the dents in the walls were anything to go by, they had been thrown, hitting the wall hard, before falling to their resting place on the floor. The glass coffee tables and end tables were shattered. The TV, which was on, was half hanging off the wall, swinging precariously from where it was still attached. The screen was severely cracked, and it looked as though… Someone had been thrown against it? Yeah… It definitely looked like a body out line in the screen and the wall behind the TV from the force of the throw. There was indeed a bullet hole in the sparking X-box like Bellamy had suspected. The Wii was in broken pieces right next to the entertainment system, and a knife was sticking out of the old Nintendo gaming system. The whole room looked like a tornado, hurricane, and a tsunami hit it all at one time…

Bellamy’s attention was drawn to Murphy, who was standing between the equally broke coffee table and TV, alternating between throwing things and trying to shoot Miller, who was bouncing, jumping, and leaping all around the room at such a fast pace, he was almost a blur. The man didn’t stop or slow down for nothing. Both were yelling at each other… Murphy in obvious anger, and Miller in a more pleading voice. Bellamy couldn’t tell what in the hell they were each saying because they each drowned out what the other was saying.

A small whimper caused Bellamy to turn his head to the right to see Monty and Jasper both huddled over in the farthest corner of the room, furthest away from Miller and Murphy, both clutching the PlayStation like their lived depended on it. Romeo and Lucca were under the pool table a few feet away, perhaps the only thing not broken in the whole place, with their hand over their heads like they were practicing a drill for an earthquake, or suffering through the real thing. They too were yelling, alternating between telling Murphy to calm the hell down and for Antonio and Diego to hurry the hell up. As for Antonio and Diego, well, both men were ducked down behind the back of the couch facing the door where Bellamy was standing, hunched over something between them… Upon closer look, Bellamy realized it was two tranquilizer rifles. They were both trying to load the guns, but seemed to be having trouble finding the right dart to use between the 9 or 10 lying on the ground between them, which was odd. Why the hell didn’t they just pick one? They were all the same right?

Commotion drew Bellamy’s eyes upward to see Murphy drop his now surely empty gun and tackle Miller as he was flying by on the couch. Both men crashed to the floor and grappled for a moment, throwing punches and hits. Miller landed a good knee to Murphy’s side causing the man to lose his grip for a moment with the sudden pain. Miller jumped up and tried to move away, but dropped to the floor again as Murphy reached out and tripped him. Murphy stood and hauled Miller to his feet by the front of his shirt shoving him against the wall and beginning to strangle him as Miller tried to fight back.

“That’s my sister you traitor!!! How could you?” He yelled in Miller’s face as he continued to choke the other man. Miller was trying to fight back, clawing at Murphy’s hands and pushing his face away, but his face began turning red from lack of oxygen and he was obviously losing the fight. He tried a few self-defense moves that Murphy blocked easily.

On the floor in front of him, Diego and Antonio finally seemed to get their shit together, and the dart guns loaded. Both men quickly swung up onto their knees, hooked and steadied both of the guns on the back of the couch, and aimed at their target. Antonio took, what Bellamy presumed was, the first of two shots… The soft whooshing of the gun cut Murphy’s rant and tirade off as the dart hit him squarely in the back of the neck. Murphy let go of Miller, obviously stunned, and stumbled away dizzily as the drug took immediate effect. The whole room got quiet except for Miller who dropped to the floor in a coughing fit, trying to get air to his deprived lungs.

Bellamy expected Diego to shoot Murphy with the other dart, but to his surprise, he didn’t. Murphy brought one hand up to the back of his neck and plucked the dart from his skin. He looked at it for a moment before saying, “Awe shit.” And dropping to the floor out cold. Miller stumbled to his feet, watching Murphy’s unconscious body warily like he was going to jump up again at any moment and resume strangling him. Miller spoke as he began to turn toward Antonio and Diego who were still in position to shoot, “Thanks gu-”. He didn’t even finish his sentence before the soft whooshing sound filled the room once more as Diego took his shot, hitting Miller in the side of the neck with a dart.

“What the f-” Miller started, reaching up to do the same as Murphy and pull the dart out of his neck. He didn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence or get a good look at the dart he’d just been shot with before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped to the floor with a thump. Bellamy swore he heard all the guys let out a relieved breath. Diego and Antonio pulled the guns from their resting place and slumped back down behind the couch setting the guns aside.

It was Antonio who looked up and saw him first… If his terrified face was anything to go by, Bellamy must have looked murderous. “Hey Boss… Didn’t see yah there.” He started out weakly before clearing his throat. The whole room’s attention seemed to snap to him. Bellamy noticed all of them looked like they’d just come from battle… Ripped clothes, sweating like crazy, red in the face. A couple of them even had small blood stains. Lucca had a nice black eye, and Diego had a little blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth like he’d been socked one in the mouth.

When Bellamy didn’t say anything, Antonio continued. “Uh… So… We had a _little_ situation.” He said with a forced light tone. “But it’s all good now… We took care of it.” He finished quickly, trying to reassure Bellamy.

“What. The. Ever living hell. Happened. Here?” Bellamy asked slowly between clenched teeth, his eyes closing as his whole skull thudded with the major migraine he felt taking over his head. Bellamy pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to futilely relieve some of the pressure in his brain. It didn’t work. He dropped his hand and opened his eyes to see Lucca and Romeo crawl out from under the pool table, and Jasper and Monty stand up from their corner of safety.

“Okay…” Jasper started out seriously, handing off the PlayStation to Monty who hugged it to his chest and walked over to the entertainment system beginning to evaluate the extent of the damage. Jasper held his hands out in front of him, getting ready it seemed to launch into his tail. “See… What had happened was…” But paused, as though thinking of how to phrase what he wanted to say. He seemed to give up, and blurted out. “Murphy just went crazy.” He exclaimed with big eyes. “He was yelling and pulled his gun and said he was going to kill Miller and-and that Miller betrayed him and he was a dead man, and that he would never get the chance to touch her again, and then he was shooting and throwing stuff, and it was like PEW-BAM-PEW…” Jasper’s anxious rambling, sound effects, and hand motions were all cut off by Lucca slapping the back of his head. Jasper glared at him, rubbing the back of his head, but he wisely chose not to speak up again.

“Would someone please start from the beginning and explain things right?” Bellamy asked warily. The adrenaline was leaving him… And so was the numbness. It was almost gone, and he needed to be alone when the pain hit. No one could see him weak…

This time it was Romeo who spoke up. “We were all hanging out here like we normally do on our days off. Everything was fine and nothing out of the ordinary happened… Well except for Murphy’s phone getting smashed early this morning when we were playing Mario cart. Jasper’s fault really, because he was the one who stepped on it when doing his weird ass victory dance-”

“Hey!!” Jasper said outraged, but was silenced with the dark look Bellamy threw his way. He moped and sulked off over to where Monty, who was muttering and cursing fiercely, was hunched over the Nintendo game console as he tried to unsuccessfully repair it. Monty looked up at Jasper’s approach and ordered him to quickly go get their tools so they could save their ‘patient’ as he was still salvageable. Bellamy rolled his eyes as the boy’s antics and nodded for Romeo to continue with the story.

“Uh… Anyway, we were taking a break and Miller got up to get us drinks from the fridge. All I know is his phone was on the coffee table, it vibrated as though getting an incoming text message, Murphy picked it up calling Miller’s name to let him know about it and went to throw the phone, except something caught his attention on the screen. Jas and I weren’t really paying attention because it was our turn to play and we were playing Call of Duty: Black Ops, but he read whatever it was and like Jasper said, after that he just kind of freaked.” He shrugged, but winced at the movement. At Bellamy’s questioning look, he explained, “Uh, I got body slammed pretty badly when I jumped on Murphy trying to wrestle the gun from him… Shoulder kind of hurts.” Bellamy sighed heavily… Honestly, this whole thing, this whole day, was a cluster-fuck of epic proportions, and it all just _had_ to happen on the same day.

“Get me Miller’s phone.” Bellamy requested quietly to whomever. As the guys all turned and began to search for the little device amidst the debris and wreckage that was left behind in the wake of Murphy’s rampage, Bellamy thought over everything he knew. He could easily put together the pieces of what happened here and probably get a very accurate picture of what went down and what had caused Murphy to flip the hell out, but honestly, Bellamy didn’t want to. Although he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like what he found, Bellamy decided to wait to see what was on Miller’s phone before he jumped to any conclusions.

“Got it!” Lucca shouted, holding the phone up where he’d uncovered it beneath the glass and feathers near the destroyed coffee table. The four guys all came back to stand around Bellamy as Lucca handed him the phone. Bellamy swiped at the iPhone screen, and was prompted for a four-number passcode.

“What’s his passcode?” Bellamy asked as the screen appeared. No one answered… Bellamy looked up to see four confused faces.

“Seriously?” Bellamy asked. “Not one of you know his passcode? Damn. Monty!” He called getting the other man’s attention causing him to look up from trying to pull the knife from the stabbed game cube. “You know Miller’s passcode?”

“No… Just use his thumb print.” He said like the answer was obvious and shaking his head at their assumingly stupid question, before resuming his efforts with the Nintendo. That could work…

At that moment Jasper came breezing back into the room loaded down with tools and gadgets. He looked absolutely ridiculous. He had black electrical gloves on, a white lab coat, and goggles on top of his head… He looked like the perfect mad scientist. “It’s 0521.” He said dropping all the tools in front of Monty and turning to look at Bellamy. Bellamy’s stomach dropped hearing the number…

Monty was completely out of it, not paying a lick of attention to any of them, focused solely on the project in front of him. Bellamy typed the passcode and was immediately granted access. That was almost a straight up confession right there… 0521 was Katie Monroe’s birth date, and it was Miller’s passcode. Things were really shaping up to look as bad as he thought they were.

“How did you know that Jasper?” Diego asked curiously.

“I know all of your passwords and codes.” He said with a ridiculous tone, rolling his eyes, like they were all crazy.

“Excuse me?” Romeo asked appalled as they all turned to stare at Jasper aghast, including Bellamy.

“Uh… Yeah.” Jasper said in a small voice.

“Jasper!” Lucca said crossly. “We agreed you’d stop spying on people!!”

“It’s not my fault you all are so obvious about it and I could guess them!! Seriously Lucca, your mom’s birthday? How could I not guess that one? It’s not like I would ever use them or tell them…” Jasper said his voice growing quieter and quieter as Lucca’s face grew darker and darker. Lucca took a threatening step forward…

“Stop right there sir.” Jasper said in a mock stern voice as he held up his hands in a firm stop gesture. “Don’t touch me, I’m sterile… I have surgery in a moment, and I don’t have time for your reindeer games.”

Lucca shot him another dirty look before huffing and turning back to Bellamy muttering about Jasper really being sterile when he cut his balls off… All Bellamy heard though was the snip, snip, snip of his patience being cut away.

Bellamy shoved everything happening around him away and focused on the phone in his hands. The background photo was a picture of Katie and Miller somewhere outside… Bellamy ignored it seeing as how that didn’t confirm anything he didn’t already know, and hit the message app. Immediately it brought up the message thread. It looked like last person Miller had been talking with just so happened to be Katie. Of freaking course Miller had been talking to her, and of course he would put some weird ass emoji’s by her name that practically gave everything away. It looked like a heart eyes face, a kissy face, and a red heart… Jeez, obvious much?

Bellamy sighed heavily and read the messages seeing as how they were his only clue as to why Murphy went off the deep end. Most of them were from Miller, over the last several days, begging her to call him or pick up his phone calls… There were a couple where he asked if they could meet up and talk, and it looked like she blew him off saying she had to work and such. Then today it started out with her messaging him first…

_Listen, I know we aren’t on the best terms right now, but please tell me where my brother is. I’m freaking out right now because he isn’t picking up my calls. –K (Sent 12:24)_

_Yeah, he’s hanging out with us guys today at the club. Jasper broke his phone earlier. I’ll let him know you were trying to get a hold of him. Listen, can we just talk? Please? –N (Sent 12:48)_

_Thank you for the info and for letting him know. –K (Sent 1:02)_

It didn’t fail Bellamy’s notice that she purposely didn’t answer him about the talking aspect of his message. Miller wasn’t one to give up though…

_Please Katie-cat, I’m begging you here. Just give me one more chance. I miss you, and I want to see            you. Are you avoiding me because you’ve moved on and don’t want to tell me? –N (1:09)_

_Not that it’s any of your business, but I haven’t moved on… Not yet at least. I’m not avoiding you, we just have nothing left to talk about. You’re the one who left me in the middle of the night after I told you I loved you and wanted to tell my brother about us, not me. Remember? –K (Sent 1:23)_

Bellamy was stunned. He didn’t know any of this… Katie didn’t tell him any of this. He left her after she said she loved him? What the fuck?! If Murphy did read this, Bellamy got, 110%, why he blew up. Hell, Bellamy wanted to go knock some sense into Miller himself. Bellamy kept reading…

_I was scared, and I’m sorry for that, but I’m not anymore. We can work this out… I’ll never leave you again, I swear it. –N (Sent 1:36)_

_We would still have the same problems though, and I don’t see how getting back together would solve any of them. Look, I just don’t know. Let me think on it. After that last night together, I don’t ever want to feel hurt like that again. Just give me time. –K (Sent 1:57)_

Okay, Bellamy was pretty certain they hadn’t slept together, but the messages kind of made it look like they did, so that was probably a major reason Murphy was pissed. That last message was sent about two o’clock though… It was almost four now. Had Murphy really been on a warpath for an hour and a half to two hours before the guys decided to finally call him? And why the hell had they knocked Miller out with the tranquilizer too?

“Did Murphy say anything before he flipped? Who was all in here when it happened? Did Miller say anything?” Bellamy asked turning the phone off and looking to the four guys in front of him for an explanation.

“Uh… It was just Jasper and me here with Murphy and Miller.” Romeo said. “The others had gone out to get food for lunch. As first Murphy sat there stunned with the phone in his hands, he’d scrolled through it I guess, and then he looked up and saw Miller standing there with a coke in his hands. Miller looked… Caught I guess, and started apologizing saying something about they were going to tell him? I dunno… I was weird and I didn’t really get it or get a chance to get an explanation because Murphy flipped his shit, pulled his gun and tried to shoot him… He was crazy, I swear I though he was possessed. Like, I’ve never seen him like this ever, not even when we were dealing with those Colombians in South America and he got lost in the woods for three days. It was worse almost. Remember that?”

All the guys, including Bellamy, winced remembering all the gruesome blood, mangled bodies, and body parts of the human trafficking mercenaries they’d came across out in the jungle when they had been trying to track Murphy. All they had to do was follow the trail of bodies to the source, and lo and behold was Murphy. He’d went full on native by that point, attacking anyone and anything that moved… He was almost like a feral wild animal when they finally caught up to him. He’d been completely crazy with blood lust that they had to drug him with a paralytic agent just to be able to talk to him and get him to snap out of it and realize he was safe with familiar people… Apparently the mercenaries had been coming after him because he was a perfect male specimen for their forced labor ring they were trying to expand and build, and would bring in a shit ton of money… Yeah, the whole thing was pretty bad. Actually, Bellamy was pretty sure Murphy had sparked a couple of new Colombian legends about the ‘ _El Demonio de_ _Sangre’_ , or The Blood Demon, as the locals called the blood thirsty beast of the jungle who stole souls and ate the hearts of its victims… As far as Bellamy knew, Murphy hadn’t eaten any hearts. After the whole thing was over though, Murphy seemed to snap out of it and was back to his usual humorous fun-loving self in no time. Hell, he was joking about it a month after the whole thing had happened, bragging about knocking a task off his bucket list by becoming a legend. It took a full week of convincing and threatening to keep Jasper and Monty from running off in the jungle so they too could, quote, ‘become gods among men’.

“Any way…” Romeo continued, bringing everyone’s mind out of the past and those hellish three days and into the present. “I called the guys to help me out because Jasper was no help…” Jasper’s faint ‘HEY!’ was heard in the background, and ignored. The two nerds were duck taping the hell out of the broken game cube it looked like. “They came running in and tried helping, but, well, you can see how that went. I swear we look worse off than Miller, and he was the intended target. We tried to hold off calling you because we didn’t know when the meeting would be over with your dad and Jake.” Bellamy thought he hid his flinch at the mention of the meeting, his father, and Jake very well for the wounds still being so new, fresh, and open. “We did end up calling you though, as a last resort before I finally thought of the dart guns we had stashed down in the garage… I ran and got those while Monty ran and grabbed the special darts from the safe in the security office. You know everything after that…”

“Special?” Bellamy questioned. “Special how?”

“Monty, come explain your science-y stuff.” Lucca called. Monty walked over fiddling with a screwdriver and the hard drive from the X-box.

“What?” He asked tersely.

“Tell me about these darts.” Bellamy asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

Monty stopped fiddling and looked up as Bellamy before beginning his explanation. “They’re made specifically with each of us in mind by our weight. If you use a dart that has less than the correct dosage, it only has partial side effects, while if you use a dart that has too much, it could possibly kill the person by way of overdose. By making sure I had the right weight and label for each of us I cut down on other unnecessary risks. I had those darts…” He said pointing to the unused ones still on the ground. “Made and labeled one for each of us specifically by what our weight is in case we ever needed them. Obviously we did. As long as we don’t have any major weight change, ten pounds give or take; they’ll still be effective. Those are the ones that only last 30 minutes to an hour by the way, so you’ve got a clock.” He finished before walking away again. That explained why both Antonio and Diego had so much trouble picking a dart and loading it… They were reading the names and labels on the darts to make sure they didn’t grab the wrong one. That didn’t explain one thing though…

“Do you two,” He said pointing at Diego and Antonio. “Want to tell me why you decided to trank them both instead of just Murphy?”

“Uh…” Diego looked guilty. “Precautionary measure?” He tried to ask innocently, but Bellamy shot him a look that had him grudgingly admitting, “Plus I really just wanted to be able to shoot someone with a tranquilizer gun… We don’t get to do that too often.”

Antonio nodded, agreeing with what his partner in crime was saying. Bellamy sighed… He couldn’t fault them for that and being honest.

“So what was it they were fighting over?” Lucca asked confused. “Was it some chick they’d both slept with or something?”

Bellamy shook his head. “No… Worse. Katie.” He said lowly, looking over to the two men unconscious on the floor.

“What?” Lucca asked confused. “Murphy was sleeping with his adopted sister while Miller was sleeping with her too? Ewe, gross dude.” He said making a face.

Diego slapped him on the back of the head… Hard. “No retard. Miller was sleeping with her and obviously didn’t tell Murphy, and you know how protective he is of his sister. She’s off limits…”

“Oh… That makes sense.” Lucca said nodding to himself. Bellamy rolled his eyes. Idiots the lot of them… At that moment a loud groan was heard across the room causing everyone but Bellamy to startle. Jasper and Monty huddled around their little projects protectively as Miller began to stir from his unconscious state. Bellamy walked over to him, not caring where he stepped or what he stepped on and crouched down as Miller blinked his eyes open sleepily.

“Hi Boss… How was your day?” Miller asked in a drowsy but horse tone, from all of the yelling Bellamy presumed. He was acting like he’d just woke up on the couch after a nap instead of waking up on the floor in disaster zone after being drugged.

“Pretty shitty… A hell of a lot worse than yours.” Bellamy said calmly in conversational tone. He was feeling pretty chill at that moment actually. What was that saying? Calm before the storm? Yeah that was happening right now because he was fixing to tear some people new ones after everyone was conscious and lucid again. Funny how this was the second time today this was happening… Everything had been perfectly fine that morning when he’d woken up to Clarke, but it had all been a mirage. A distraction that had caused him to miss seeing the massive storm that had been brewing in his future… Well he would never let that happen to him again. Adversities came in waves… Highs and Lows. Turbulent times and then calmness, and now it looked like he was gearing up for the peak of the next adversity wave.

“You screwed up man…” Bellamy said somberly. “You screwed up so fucking bad, I don’t even want to stop Murphy from shooting your ass when he wakes up again.”

“I know…” Miller said sadly. “I couldn’t even explain-”

“Do you blame him?” Bellamy interrupted. “Those messages look bad to an outsider who doesn’t know what really went on, and you leaving her after she said she loved you? Prick move dude… Hell you’ve been what sneaking around for a month or so right? I bet those feelings had developed well before you two got together. None of that really matters though because what Murphy’s going to be pissed about is you hid it, hid her, like she was your dirty little secret… No man wants his sister to be treated like that. I feel it bears repeating… You screwed up royally.”

Miller sighed heavily and dropped his head back to the floor looking up at the ceiling. He ran his hand over his face distressed, before rubbing his temple like he had a headache, which Bellamy didn’t doubt he did seeing as how there was nothing there to break his fall when he lost consciousness.

Suddenly the sound of another groan filled the room making everyone tense. Bellamy quickly made a hand motion for Diego and Antonio, his two biggest guys, to move nearer to Murphy and hover in case he needed help to hold the other man down… Bellamy stood and walked over to stand at Murphy’s feet with his arms crossed. Bellamy saw out of his peripheral vision, Miller stand and back away cautiously… Bellamy thought it was a good self-preservation move on Miller part because Murphy was a quick slick guy. There was no telling the damage he could do to Miller if he evaded Diego, Antonio, and Bellamy all trying to grab him.

Murphy groaned again and blinked his eyes open blearily, focusing on Bellamy immediately.

“Hi-yah Skip…” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes like a child just waking up from a good night’s sleep. “I had the wackiest dream ever… Miller was sneaking around with my little sister and neither of them told me, and I found out by looking at Miller’s phone.” Murphy dropped his hands, and looked up at Bellamy’s somber face. “Which is funny…” He continued, chuckling to himself. “Because Miller would never do that to me. It goes against the code, and she’s off limits. Such a strange dream, but it was so life like.” He mused the last part to himself. He finally seemed to realize he was laying on the floor and took a look around the room, shock crossing his face at the state of the room and its inhabitants. “What the hell happened?” He asked aghast.

“Good question…” Bellamy said stonily. “You don’t remember anything?”

Murphy shook his head vigorously and sat up bending his knees and placing his feet firmly on the floor. He leaned his forearms on his bent knees, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his head. “Last thing I remember was watching Romeo and Jasper battling it out on Call of Duty, and…” He stopped talking, his eyes glazing over and losing focus as his memory came back to him. “Miller’s phone… The messages… and-and… Oh sweet baby Jesus…” He said hunching over and breathing heavily in rage. Bellamy could visibly see his hands beginning to shake in his fury.

“Murphy.” Bellamy said sternly, making Murphy’s head snap up to look up at Bellamy. “I need you to calm down right now. Do you understand me?” Bellamy asked firmly. Murphy nodded and took deep breaths but it didn’t seem to be helping. His eyes slipped from Bellamy to Miller, who was steadily backing away with his hand raised.

“It’s not what you think!!!” Miller pleaded. “We were just dating! We never slept together, I swear it! I was going crazy keeping it from you but I couldn’t tell you because of the way you’d react, so she called it quits, and-and I-” Miller stopped talking before looking down and whispering. “I miss her so much it hurts.” Bellamy flinched, hard, at the pain he heard in Miller’s voice. He could relate, oh God could he relate… At that very moment the ache in his chest spiked sharply before dulling and throbbing mercilessly. He missed his princess… But she wasn’t his anymore. She was never really his to begin with, not really anyway.

“I don’t believe you!” Murphy hissed, jumping to his feet but making no other move towards Miller. “You shouldn’t have been dating her or entertaining the idea of dating her when she was. Off. Limits. It’s bad enough she knows what we do, but I don’t want her involved with anyone that is in the thick of it! You betrayed me, our friendship, and our brotherhood! Hell, why don’t you stick a rusty knife in my back and twist you traitor, it would hurt less!! You gonna come kiss my cheek too, Judas Iscariot? I can practically hear the 30 pieces of silver clinking together in your pocket from here!”

“Enough!!” Bellamy boomed, startling everyone. He was sick and tired of this day!! So much betrayal and deception revealed and just… Heartbreak, especially for him. “Get you shit together, all of you…” Bellamy growled looking around at all the guys watching him worriedly. He honest to God could not handle this- them acting like bickering ridiculous children- today of all days. He turned to Miller and spoke saying, “You should have come out with it and told him, no matter what.” He turned to Murphy and glared. “Your sister is a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions and mistakes… How is she to learn anything if you keep making decisions for her and dictating her life? Mark my words, she will resent you for it, if she doesn’t already, if you keep it up. Let her make her own decisions, and if she messes up or someone messes her up, be there for her to pick her back up, dust her off, and send her back on her way while putting a bullet in whomever fucked with her. You got me?” Bellamy asked.

Murphy nodded. “Get some one here to get this place cleaned up and back to the way it was… You’re paying for it.” He said pointing at Murphy, who nodded again. With those last words Bellamy turned and stormed out of the room, making for his office.

Bellamy slammed the door of his office behind him as he walked in, quickly ripping his jacket and tie off, throwing the two garments over the back of one of the two guest chairs in front of his desk… He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white button down shirt, and rolled up the sleeves. Once he was finished, he took a cursory look around the room and froze. The stillness and quietness of the room was unnerving and had a fresh wave of chills crawling up his spine. It was all the same… He realized.

As Bellamy looked around at the room that looked exactly how he’d left it the last time he’d been here, which was God know how long ago, everything seemed to hit him. Everything here was the same, everything in its place, but _he_ wasn’t the same anymore. The pieces of him, of his life, were shattered on the floor once again, and he had no idea how to fix it or repair it this time. He’d become a twisted and mangled hollowed-out shell because his loss and grief… His loss of _her_ and his grief over the great ‘what if’. He couldn’t bear to think, let alone say, _her_ name… It hurt way too much.

As the thoughts of what had happened that day washed over him like a tidal wave, Bellamy let out a roar of utter despair and swiped his hands and arms across his desk, throwing its contents to the floor with a loud crash. He rested his hands on the now clear surface and leaned on them, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and bowed his head just remembering everything. His father’s proposal, Abby’s cruel words to her own daughter, Jake’s silence, Lincoln’s pleading, and… _Her_ face, _her_ tears, _her_ sorrow… It almost brought him to his knees.

Suddenly he felt it… Bellamy blinked his eyes open, his gaze falling on the rivulets of blood flowing down from the long gash on his right forearm to his hand. Bellamy lifted his arm slightly, gazing at it in bewilderment… He must have cut himself with something sharp that had been lying on his desk when he threw everything to the floor. Bellamy found he didn’t really care to investigate how he got the cut though. All he could seem to focus on was the fact that he _felt_ it, felt the pinch of pain associated with it. It was practically just a scratch in his book, completely inconsequential compared to all the other more serious stab, slice, and gunshot wounds he’d had in his life. It was what it represented to him that really had him thrown… Pain… Agony… Hurt…

It was as though with the blood flowing out of the wound, so too did the numbness. The numbness from the past couple of hours faded and the pain took over the once dull ache of his loss. It was like coming down from an adrenaline rush after being hit by a car, you felt everything… Every broken bone, every bruise, every laceration, just everything. He too felt everything- disappointment, rage, sorrow, betrayal, hurt, grief, regret, anguish- all magnified exponentially hitting him with such force he was immobile. He’d never experienced such emotions so powerfully, so intensely, and all at once like he did in that moment. He felt frozen as they relentlessly assaulted him and slayed him, cutting him to the quick. He couldn’t cry, he couldn’t yell or scream or shout, he couldn’t even move a muscle… Nothing. He just stood there gazing at the shiny red liquid, his life’s source, flowing out of him while he silently suffered. He knew he didn’t have the capacity to feel numb anymore, and he mourned its departure because now he had to _feel_. All he could think was, _This emotional and mental pain is the new norm._

Bellamy unfroze at the last thought and dropped his arm back to the desk, no longer caring about the wound and what it represented… He’d clean it up later. Right now he had to find the will to try and pick himself up from this major setback and continue on with all the crap he had to deal with on a daily basis.

 _But it wasn’t just a setback though…_ His subconscious whispered, and it was true. It was more, so much more. How could he label losing the love he didn’t just want but needed, as a setback? He couldn’t. How could he just get up and move on like this major thing had never happened to him? He couldn’t. How could he just continue on with life like everything was fine and normal when he didn’t have _her_? He couldn’t. Was he supposed to go back to how things had been, work, work, more work, and sleeping around occasionally when the loneliness got to be too much? No, he couldn’t do that… Bellamy knew it was irrational, but it felt like cheating even just considering it. He had changed for _her_ , he had become a better man for _her_ , or at least he’d like to think he did, and he didn’t want to go back to the old him and dismiss the time he’d had with _her_ as nothing but a passing fling. It had been more… He knew it had been probably more so on his end, but it was on _hers_ too. He would have to learn to survive with the pain and the emptiness that was his life now that he didn’t have _her_ anymore. Before _her_ , he’d been alive, just existing, surviving, and stumbling through the motions of life in the dark, and then she’d burst into his life like a ray of sunshine, working miracles and making him hope for a life he never thought he’d get a chance to have. He’d begun to live for the first time since his mother died and it was all because of _her_ … Now he had to go back to just being alive and existing instead of living. It was like a blind man being given sight, just for it to be snatched from his grasp once he’d had a glimpse of what life could truly be like for him.

Bellamy was drawn from his thoughts when heard the knob on the door behind him slowly turn and inch open wider and wider. He felt the presence of his guys slowly fill the room, one by one, none of them saying anything. He didn’t turn and look at them… He couldn’t. He wasn’t in control. He could feel their eyes on him, boring into his back, silently asking questions he didn’t want to answer but knew he needed to anyway.

“Cap?” Monty asked quietly, concerned. “What’s wrong? Is Jake doing okay?”

Bellamy lowered his head and looked at his own reflection on the polished surface of his desk… He didn’t recognize the person staring back at him. Bellamy slowly shook his head in response to Monty’s question. The effort it took to just do that was astounding…

“No Monty…” Bellamy said lowly in a hoarse voice. “I don’t imagine he’s doing too well right about now.”

“What’s going on? What happened?” Lucca asked worriedly.

Bellamy sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat and weariness. With great effort, he pushed off the desk lightly to twist around and face them, leaning back on the edge of the desk. He raised his head to see the alarm rapidly growing on all of their faces.

“Someone get me Jack…” Bellamy said, and watched as Romeo shot out of the room. While he was waiting for the man to get back, Bellamy bent down and reached under his desk feeling around for a moment before finding what he was looking for. He pulled his pack of emergency smokes out from under the desk and opened the fresh carton, slipping a cigarette out. Antonio tossed him a lighter, and Bellamy lit up, taking a deep drag from the cigarette… Smoking usually calmed him some, but it didn’t seem to be working now. Romeo re-entered the room carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and a glass, handing them over to Bellamy, who forwent the glass and opened the bottle before taking a swig from the source. _Yeah, this’ll do._ Bellamy thought resigned.

“Come on Skip… Tell us what happened…” Murphy asked anxiously, while some of the guys nodded, agreeing with his sentiment.

Bellamy took another mouthful of whiskey, relishing in the burn as it went down his throat, clearing it and loosening his tongue, giving him the ability to speak clearly without getting choked up or tongue tied. “Miller was right…” He said simply. “She’s Jake Griffin’s daughter.” The whole room was stunned… That much was obvious from the gasps and expletives that flew around the room. Bellamy didn’t have to say a name, not that he could anyway, for them to understand who he was talking about. He wasn’t paying attention to any of them though… His attention was solely on Miller who looked disheartened about his accurate suspicions. “You going to tell me ‘I told you so’?” Bellamy asked, his gaze never wavering from the other man.

Miller just shook his head no before looking down and away, not being able to look into Bellamy’s eyes anymore and see the dull lifelessness there.

“Jake planted his daughter here for her to… What?” Jasper asked confused. “When we met Clarke, she didn’t seem like that kind of person, you know, like devious, and if Bellamy thought she was a good person, then she must be. I mean he found all of us didn’t he? And Jake would have no reason to have a plant over here unless he was making a move on the Collins Family, which he would never do, because Bellamy is here. None of this is making sense…” Jasper muttered to himself, going around in circles with his thought logic.

“She moved here to get away from her crazy ass over-controlling mother…” Bellamy explained, taking a drag on the cigarette, not caring where the ashes dropped. “She didn’t know who I was, nor me her.” He continued, breathing out the smoke. “I found out literally ten minutes before she showed up, because Jake thought I was sleeping with her, knowing she was his daughter. She didn’t find out until she showed up and saw me there… Even then she thought she and her family were meeting my supposed boss, because I never told her I owned my own company.” Bellamy said shaking his head and taking a sip from the bottle in his hands… It was going to take him a fourth the bottle just to get a buzz. Damn him and his ridiculously good alcohol tolerance…

“I’m really lost… There seems like there is stuff missing that I’m just not getting.” Diego said, glancing up at Bellamy with his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“What happened at the meeting?” Miller asked quietly, still looking down.

“What happened at the meeting?” Murphy asked immediately after Miller, repeating Miller’s words.

“Umm… Miller literally just said that Murphy.” Monty said to Murphy in a duh voice.

“I’m sorry who?” Murphy asked in fake confused voice. “There is no one here by that name.” He said coolly.

Miller rolled his eyes at Murphy obviously ignoring his existence. While the other guys just eyed the pair wearily, still not completely over what had happened earlier in the game room. No one said anything to contradict Murphy’s firm statement… _Let the man think whatever he wants._ Bellamy thought agitatedly. _He’ll be forced to face all that crap later, and I get to see how well and how long Murphy can ignore Miller before he cracks._

“Boss?” Antonio prompted.

Bellamy tensed again, having to re-live this nightmare all over again… Then a thought suddenly struck him. He was going to have to tell his grandmother about this too, and oh boy was she going to be pissed. Bellamy quickly took a swig from the bottle clutched so tightly in his hand, his knuckles were turning white from the force he was exerting, and pulled himself up to sit on the top of his clean desk, before beginning his tale. He had already told them about meeting her at church and them hanging out for the past month, after the whole zoo day fiasco, so he picked up from the night before when they got together.

He told them major events, leaving out details he thought they didn’t need to know, like that loved _her_ … He hadn’t even told _her_ yet, and probably never would or get the chance to, so he felt no one else needed to know that little secret other than the people who already knew, even though he was sure it was pretty clear how he felt about her. He glossed over them getting together the night before, leaving out details such as that he stayed the night with her, what actually happened or any of what they really said to one another, but he did explain everything that had happened that very day starting with Jake showing up early to confront him and reveal who his daughter was up until he got the phone calls from the guys needing help. He didn’t say her name once while explaining the day’s events, not because he didn’t want to, but he physically couldn’t. Everything that was said, done, and promised that day, he revealed. And it hurt, but it was freeing in a way to tell them all that had happened.

After hours of talking and revealing and venting, the room was silent… Dead silent. No one could seems to move or breathe with the shock of what Bellamy had just told them, until Jasper spoke.

“So let me see if I got this right…” He said stepping forward and crossing his arms across his chest in a no nonsense manner. “You get together with Clarke last night,” Bellamy winced hearing her name. “and then you show up this morning for the meeting having no idea she was Jake’s daughter. Jake shows up 30 minutes early, reams your ass a new one, and you figure everything out. She shows up, and with a bit of difficulty figures out who you are… You’re still fine and together though. Hell, it sounds like you were making friends with her brother too… Then the meeting starts, and Damian makes a proposal to have Finn and Clarke get married so she can run the Family because Finn is incompetent. She said no obviously, but was basically forced to agree to it so her whole family doesn’t die, and so you two had to break up. Her mother is a bitch, Jake just let it happen, and Damian refuses to let her out of the deal because he wants to retire.” Jasper finished.

“Yep.” Bellamy said popping the ‘p’ before taking a swig from the three-fourths empty bottle… He hadn’t actually drank the whole thing. About a quarter of the way through his story, Bellamy started passing the bottle around to the guys who looked like they needed it.

He himself was barley even buzzed after six sips from the bottle, almost close to sober, and actually quite pissed he wasn’t drunk already… All he wanted to do now was get drunk off his ass and forget everything, but it was taking time. He knew better than to just start chugging though… Never wise. He was thinking of moving on to Jasper and Monty’s special brew of moonshine however… It was deadly, but it would do the job of getting him drunk just fine.

“What are you going to do?” Romeo asked, eyeing Bellamy.

“Elaborate…” Bellamy said confused.

“Well, we all knew the day was coming where Finn would take over, and I know you always figured that day wouldn’t come for another decade or so, but what are we going to do now that that day is looking to be coming in 2 or 3 years?” He asked worriedly.

“Didn’t you hear him?” Antonio asked. “Clarke’s taking over, not Finn.”

“No.” Lucca butted in. “Finn will look like he’s the one calling the shots, but it will actually be Clarke… There’s a difference. Finn’s still actually in charge. If Finn says take us all out, and Clarke doesn’t know about it, the men are duty bound to do what Finn says. They’re not going to go to Clarke to get permission... Besides what’s stopping him from putting a hit out on all of us on the down low? Nothing… He could pay someone, either in house or out, to kill us before Clarke even realizes what happened. Finns’ a jackass and a moron, but he’s a crafty son of a bitch, especially with his dear ole mommy whispering things in his ears.” Lucca said looking to Bellamy for confirmation that what he said was true.

Bellamy nodded gravely… It was true. “As of this moment, that very well could happen the minute he takes over… I don’t know, because I don’t know details of how the transfer of power in the Family will go. But.” Bellamy said before the alarm on their faces could grow. “I’m not going to let that happen… I’m not going to let anything happen, okay? I need time to figure out how they’re going to work things out and how much danger we are actually in. I’ve got contingency plans boy, plain and simple…” He said looking each and every one of them in the eyes. “And back up contingencies for those contingencies. No matter what we do though, it’s a risk… Will have to be vigilant from now on. No one can be trusted except for us and a select few. I haven’t let you down yet, so don’t doubt me now.” He said getting various strong affirmations all around the room. They were all with him to the end, and even though Bellamy would never let it get to that point or hold them to it, they had all pledged their lives and loyalty to him and they stood by their oaths no matter what.

“Jasper, Monty, I want the security systems and the servers both here at the club and at BGE checked for bugs and weak points and strengthened any way you can… Antonio I want more security guards here, and at BGE also, as well as increasing the home security systems we have. You know the deal, new locks on doors, code changes more frequently, and make sure our alert system is in working order. If someone attempts to break in, I want alerts sent to all of us so we can react accordingly. Nothing can be out of place. We need everything as guarded and secure as possible. With everything changing like it is, it’s exposing all our weak points and opening us all up for attacks from not just our enemies, but government agencies and other Families. From now on, no one goes on jobs or missions in anything less than a four-man team.” Bellamy said before stopping to think… Debating more like, on whether or not do or say what was on his mind, but in the end it was what needed to be done.

“Were going from a Code Yellow to a Code Blue. Spread the word to those who need to know.” Bellamy said looking around, noting the pale ashen faces looking back at him. They hadn’t had to up their defense code in over a year, being perfectly fine operating at a sunny yellow. Bellamy had created the code right after Jasper and Monty joined up, modeling it somewhat after the U.S. Air Force DEFCON alert system, being the nerd he was, but fudging a few things to fit their security and precautionary needs. The code applied to all his men, both his inner circle and his outer circle. It was kept strictly in house, and no one but his most trusted and loyal followers knew anything about what the codes meant. It was better and safer that way.

Code Yellow was the lowest level of alertness… It was their normal operating condition, meaning normal security measures and such. Code Blue was a step up from that, at level four… It involved increased security measures and protocols. It focused on information gathering mostly, determining the situation and the dangers surrounding it. Code Red was at level three… At this stage the intelligence watch was over, the gauntlet is thrown down, and was now all about gearing up and being ready for anything. Weapons were always at the ready, wives and children were sent to safe houses, and tensions were high. Code White, was level two… The calm before the storm really. Tensions were at an all-time high at this point. A diversion is put in place ready to be used at precisely the right moment to strike and people were being moved into place to take kill shots. It was like chess pieces on a game board moving stealthily and silently, advancing forward, getting ready for the ultimate check-mate. Code Black, or level one, was the absolute worst, just absolute all-out war. The diversion is played and while the enemy is distracted, Bellamy’s men move in, annihilating all obstacles in their path, until the enemy is obliterated and there is nothing left but victory.

While thinking of family in this light, as the enemy, was uncomfortable, it wasn’t outrageous… After all, the wolves in the world weren’t lurking out in the open. No, the real wolves in the world were wearing sheep’s clothing, disguised as family members. Today proved that more than anything. The thing was… If war was coming, and it looked to be inevitable, with his family, Bellamy knew without a doubt in his mind, Clarke wouldn’t be caught in the middle of it and become a casualty of it. He would do everything in his power to keep her clear of the whole thing, lest she fall victim to either fate or circumstance.

“We’re with you, Boss.” Diego rumbled from Bellamy’s right, drawing Bellamy from his thoughts causing him to look up with dark eyes. “We’re with you to the very end, come hell or high water.”

There were various nods all around the room, agreeing with Diego’s words.

“We don’t call you captain for just any reason, Captain.” Monty said smiling gently.

“‘Oh Captain, my Captain’ all the way through!” Jasper declared loudly.

Before Bellamy could say a word, the sound of a ringing phone filtered through the room. Bellamy looked around questioningly, wondering whose phone was going off, but as the guys began pulling their phones out to check, only to one by one shake their heads in denial and tuck the silent phones away again, Bellamy’s mind jolted to his own phone… It was his phone ringing. Bellamy quickly patted his pockets… Where had he put the damn thing?

Once he’d confirmed it wasn’t on his person, he grabbed his jacket to find it in his inner coat pocket. Funny, he didn’t remember turning the volume on. Looking at the screen, his heart dropped in his chest seeing the name and photo of the person calling.

Bellamy only hesitated for a moment, before swiping the screen and bringing it up to his ear. He turned away from the questioning looks he was receiving from his guys, and answered.

“Clarke?” He asked in a low tone, coming out more hoarse and broken than he would have liked, but he couldn’t help it. His mind was racing with thoughts and questions. What would she say? Had something happened? Was there news? Had something changed?

“Bellamy?” Bellamy flinched, not hearing the voice he was expecting, the one he wanted to hear most in the world at that very moment. “It’s Maya. I-I’m sorry for calling, it’s just… I-I didn’t know who else to c-call… You’re the only one I thought of, and-and she-she was asking for y-you…” Said the girl on the other end of the phone, who was distressed to say the least.

“Maya?” Bellamy asked, confused. His heart racing in his chest. “Calm down okay? Just tell me what’s wrong and why you have Clarke’s phone.”

“I didn’t know your number and I don’t know what to do. Can you just come here to our apartment building please? It… It’s Clarke.” She said in a frantic voice.

With those words, Bellamy was once again rushing from the room headed towards his car. He didn’t know what had happened, or what he’d be walking into… All he knew was he needed to get to Clarke, and fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you all think? So many of you got it right in guessing it was Murphy finally figuring out about Miller and Monroe, so kudos to you guys! Now, lets see if your as good in predicting whats going on with Clarke... The only thing I'll tell you is it isn't a life and death situation, and there should be no blood involved next chapter. Now, were there any favorite lines? Anyone cry or laugh? And if so, at what? You know I'll answer any and all questions you guys may have, so ask away. I very much would like to hear what you all think, so drop me a comment please. I love hearing from you all.
> 
> So, now as for the reason I've been AWOL for a month... Well, after my last update, I got some upsetting news about my dad's heart over the Thanksgiving holiday. He's been trying to get a job as a prison guard, and part of the job process is a physical. Basically his EKG came back reading abnormal, so they have to do a sonogram on his heart to see what the real problem is. We don't get that test done 'til the 28th of this month, so this has been hanging over my whole families heads for a month, and will over the Christmas holiday. I had one week of classes and another of exams after the Thanksgiving break, so of course the first thing that happens when I get back is I get sick as a dog... When I wasn't breathing class notes, study guides, and reviews, I was sleeping off the mother of all colds. Then, as soon as I was getting ready to start writing again (exams were over, I was feeling hella better, and I was home with my family once again) I got some pretty... disparaging, I guess you could say, comments here on AO3. A whopping 3 of them. Two being on the same chapter (Chapter 13) even!! Lets just say... It set me back for a while. But, I'm back now, and ready to continue on with the story... Bad comments happen, and I'm sorry we both suffered because of it (You all not getting a new chapter, and me losing the will-power and creativity to finish writing this chapter, and agonizing over it's incompleteness).
> 
> The outpouring of love I receive from all of my fans truly astounds me sometimes, and I'm just so grateful for you all. Every comment pleading for a update pushed me a little further in the direction of getting this done. I plan on responding to all comments in my inbox from all chapters tomorrow morning... Both all the marvelous ones and the not so pleasant ones.
> 
> I pray to have the next chapter out quickly, but with the holiday this week, I dont know how much free time I'll have. Please be patient with me guys... Life's crazy around here. As soon as the next chapter is written and edited, I'll post it.  
> -Redhead17x


	20. Panic and Anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies, I'm back. I'm so sorry for going missing like I did. Things got really rough with my dad, and school, and just so much other stuff, that writing became next to impossible.
> 
> This chapter is short (er) than some of my other one's (not my shortest though), but what happens is really important... I have a surprise for you all though, so check the A/N at the end ;)  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 20- Panic and Anxiety**

Bellamy raced for the elevator, his phone still clutched in his hand held to his ear. He listened as Maya called Clarke’s name repeatedly, and the sound of knocking on a door in the background, while he focused on maneuvering his way out of the club and to his vehicle a little ways up the street. It was dark outside, and the rain from earlier in the day had let up to a light sprinkle. Once his car door slammed closed and the car was started, Bellamy punched the gas and didn’t look back, racing for Clarke’s apartment building.

“Maya?” He called into the phone, trying to catch the woman’s attention, while simultaneously swerving to pass a slowing down taxi.

“Yeah?” She answered back softly but worriedly.

“I need you to tell me if Clarke is okay right this moment, where she is, and what happened, all in that order. Leave nothing out.” Bellamy said firmly, conveying the importance of his request.

“She’s not hurt physically. She’s locked in the bathroom. As for what happened, I was coming home from dropping Alison off at her babysitter’s place because I have the night shift at the airport tonight, and I heard something shatter in Clarke’s apartment. I knocked and when I got no answer I tried the door knob and found it open. Clarke was on her knees in the kitchen trying to pick up a broken plate, but she-she was…” Maya paused, taking a deep breath from taking so fast, and tried to find the right words to explain what she’d found. “She was sobbing and-and shaking so badly she wasn’t actually picking the pieces up. I worried she was going to cut herself so I rushed over to help her, and I guess she hadn’t heard me calling for her or something because she was startled to see me. I-I grabbed her freezing cold hands to stop her from trying to pick up the broken shards and she started to cry harder. I asked her what was wrong, but that only seemed to make it worst… She was having trouble breathing much less talking, but she got out your name before she bolted to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind her. I heard her throwing up when I was looking for her phone so I could call you.” She finished.

“What do you hear now?” Bellamy asked, slamming the car to a stop at a red light. Curse words of all manner, shape, and form flying through his head.

“Water running, crying, and gasping…” Maya said concerned. Bellamy heard her knocking once more, calling for Clarke to just open the door.

It sounded like Clarke was working herself into a full blown panic attack, and Bellamy had no idea how to help her or stop it. Information from a long time ago floated through his brain… Lincoln was the only one who could help her, calm her. He needed Lincoln to get there in case it turned out he himself couldn’t help her calm down. She’d practically asked for him though, hadn’t she?

“Maya, I’m on my way, but I need you to do one thing for me right now, after you hang up with me. I need you to find her brother’s number in her phone and call him… I don’t know what name it’ll be under, but his name is Lincoln, and her nickname for him is Bear. Tell him to get to her place ASAP, and just tell him what you told me okay? Can you do this for me Maya?” Bellamy asked a bit desperately.

“Y-Yes, I can do it.” She said anxiously.

“Okay, good. I’ll be there in a few.” Bellamy said before hanging up and hitting the gas once again.

**_XxxX_ **

As promised he came to a stop on the street opposite of Clarke’s apartment five minutes later, throwing the car in park, snatching the keys from the ignition and slamming the door behind him in his haste to just get to Clarke. It had begun to rain harder on the drive over and the rain was now coming down in torrents once again. He hit the lock button on his key fob twice over his shoulder, ignoring the rain, as he dashed across the empty street and rushed into the building, taking the stairs two at a time ‘til he got to her floor. The door was open, and he could hear Maya inside, talking, whether to Clarke in the bathroom or to Lincoln on the phone, he knew not… Not bothering to knock, Bellamy walked in and surveyed the apartment quickly.

It looked to have been cleaned spotless… The bed had been made to perfection, every pillow and blanket in place while the living area had been dusted and organized. The windows looked to had been washed and the floors had been swept if the broom leaning against the far wall by the book case was any indication. The kitchen had been scrubbed, all the counters clear, appliances put away, and dishes still drying in the dish rack by the sink. The only thing marring the otherwise impeccably cleaned apartment, was the white plate shattered on the floor… There were far too many small pieces to be picked up by hand, and most looked sharp. Bellamy was grateful Maya had been there to stop Clarke from picking them up, lest she have shredded her hands in her obviously distressed state trying to pick the mess up.

Bellamy’s focus was drawn to Maya who was standing near the bathroom door speaking rapidly into Clarke’s phone… To Lincoln presumably. As he drew nearer to her, Maya stopped talking seeing that Bellamy was there. The relief that shone on her face was palpable. Bellamy could actually hear Lincoln on the other end of the line asking questions too quickly to have them answered, and starting to sound panicked.

 Bellamy gently took Clarke’s phone from Maya’s hand and held it to his ear speaking three words firmly, “Just get here.” Before hanging up, and tossing the phone onto her bed, where it landed softly. He nodded his thanks at Maya, who gave a small feeble smile in response and motioned that she was going to leave. As she passed, she paused and spoke quietly, “Will you please call me to let me know she’s okay?” Bellamy nodded once again, the lump in his throat preventing him from actually saying anything.

Okay? He didn’t think she’d actually be okay for a long while- if ever again- but he didn’t say that. As Maya left, Bellamy focused on the person who needed him most right now… Clarke.

He turned back to the closed bathroom door, hearing the water in the sink going, and small choking sobs that broke his heart all over again. He silently cursed his father and hers for doing this to her, while turning the knob of the door, confirming it was locked.

“Princess?” He called through the door, knocking softly. “Can you open the door for me?” He said in a soothing coaxing voice. The cries died down at the sound of his voice, but hadn’t stopped… Each one, no matter how small, felt like a dagger to the heart. Seeing as how his voice was calming her down somewhat, Bellamy kept talking, telling her about what he’d walked in on earlier with his guys… Just the basics. The cries died down all the way to silence… He could hear nothing but the water running, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still having trouble breathing or wasn’t working herself into a panic attack.

He squatted down, sitting on his calves, and began again to try and convince her to open the door… He should have grabbed his lock picking kit from the glove box in the car. He heard shuffling for a moment, but the door still didn’t open. At the bottom of the door there was a space between the door and the floor big enough for him to slip his fingers and the top part of his hand under. As soon as he did, he felt her small, cold fingers grasp a hold of his own tightly, like he was her lifeline and he was slipping away.

“That’s it Princess, now just unlock the door. I promise you’re safe.” And just like that, he heard her flip the lock… It was like he’d said the magic words.

Bellamy gently let go of her fingers and twisted the doorknob, pushing the door open until it was open all the way. He stayed where he was though, in his crouched position just on the outside of the bathroom. Right in front of him was his beautiful mess of a princess, sitting on the floor next to the door with her back and head leaned against the wall, her head lolled to the side looking at him, and her arms curled around her knees as if protecting herself, from what, Bellamy didn’t know. Her eyes were red and blood shot from crying. Her cheeks were streaked with tears that were continuing to fall, mixed with mascara that she had been wearing earlier in the day. She had changed her clothes from the dressy ones she’d worn at the meeting into a pair of raggedy sweats and a big t-shirt with her hair thrown up into a messy bun that now was coming undone, freeing tendrils that fell to frame her distressed angelic face.

“I-I a-am so-sorry.” She stuttered, gasping and hiccuping not getting enough air. “I-I don’t-… I-I didn’t-”

“Shhh.” He hushed her gently, wanting nothing more than to reach out and wipe her tears, but decided not to and held himself back. Her tears kept coming though, a fresh wave brimming up and spilling over onto her wet cheeks. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Dehydration was going to become an issue here real soon like, with the sheer amount of tears she was shedding.

With no real plan in mind except to get Clarke off the floor and out of this bathroom, Bellamy quickly stood and turned around grabbing a washcloth from the basket by the sink and wetting it in the running sink. After wringing it out, he turned off the water, knowing she must have turned it on trying to muffle the sounds of her crying. He spun back around and scooped Clarke into his arms, carrying her out of the bathroom… She gave no acknowledgement of surprise or resistance to him carrying her, but yet she also didn’t melt into him like she had so many times before. In fact, she didn’t even move her hands from her face, as she continued to shake with silent cries. She spoke some muffled words, but Bellamy shushed her, not wanting her to speak while she was so short of breath already.

Bellamy set her down on the foot of her bed, kneeling in front of her, and maneuvering her so she was sitting on the edge of the foot of the bed with her feet an inch or so off the floor… _She was so short._ The thought had an involuntary little smile twitching at the corners of Bellamy’s mouth. It dropped just as quickly as it appeared though as the reality or the situation came back full force… She was pretty much engaged to his half-brother.

 _She already is…_ His subconscious whispered pityingly, making Bellamy wince at his own thoughts.

Bellamy silently brought his hands up to grasp her wrists and tug them down to rest on her lap so he could use the cool rag to wash away the tears and eye make-up on her flush face.

“W-why a-a-re you d-doing this?” She stuttered through her tears looking at him so _confused_. Bellamy’s own brow creased in befuddlement… _What was she talking about?_ He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“I-I would h-hate me if I were you…” She whimpered, her breath hitching on the word hate. “Y-you must hate m-me after w-what I d-did. I’m s-so s-sorry. You will n-never know. I d-didn’t want to do it, I s-swear. I h-had t-to.” She said working herself up again, her breathing growing rapid, unsteady and labored one again. Her hands began shaking harder where they rested in her lap. “Please j-just d-don’t hate me.” She pleaded.

“Shh… I don’t. I don’t.” Bellamy said in his most soothing voice, meaning the words he was saying, trying to reassure her as best he could, but it didn’t seem to be working like he’d hoped.

“I need y-you.” She said grabbing his forearm, and holding it tightly, and oh how Bellamy had once longed to hear those words from her lips, but now they seemed tainted by the massive shadow of her impending marriage hanging over them both. “H-how am I suppose t-to do a-any of this with-with out you? You-you won’t leave m-me right?” She asked in the most heartbreakingly hopeful voice if he ever did hear one. Her eyes were so haunting, Bellamy felt like if he’d had a soul, her gaze at that moment would have pierced it.

 “I-I know this is s-stupid, and I have no-no right to ask this, but w-we can s-still be friends r-right?” She asked hiccuping and sniffling, tears still flowing as her whole body wracked with tremors from her exhaustive sobbing.

Bellamy’s restraint broke then, and he moved to hug her close, promising, “I’m not going anywhere.” Had he known, at that very moment, that only a short week later his promise would be broken, he might’ve… Well, he might not have said anything at all.

Clarke relaxed into the hug, taking a deep shuddering breath, and then froze. Her whole body tensed and locked up in a way Bellamy had never seen nor felt her do before.

Bellamy immediately let go of her, wondering what in the hell had triggered such a response out of her.

She sat frozen on the edge of the bed, back ramrod straight, hardly even breathing. Her eyes were vacant of everything, but what looked like sheer abject terror.

“Clarke?” Bellamy asked softly in a confused tone of voice, reaching a hand up to her face to cradle her cheek. He received no response from her at the sound of his voice, but when his fingers brushed over her damp cheek her whole body jerked away from him like he’d electrocuted her.

“N-NO…” She choked out in a strangled voice, her body coming back to life it seemed… Her whole form began shaking almost violently, but not in tears or sobs like before… No, this was something much worst… Fear. Unmitigated, unmistakable fear. She pushed him farther away from her and scrambled away from him, off the bed and onto the floor. She landed on her butt and immediately began scooting backwards away from where he was still kneeling at the foot of the bed, moving towards the corner space between the book case and window. Bellamy swore he’d never seen anyone move so fast in his life. She tucked herself into the corner, her back to the wall, bringing her legs up, and tucking her arms in-between her torso and her legs with her hands clutching her head desperately, further pulling her hair out of the bun, whispering ‘no’ over and over again...

This was obviously was her way of trying to make herself feel safe or her attempt to protect herself from whatever her mind told her was going to attack her. Bellamy didn’t know which it was… Hell, it could have been both. While Bellamy didn’t understand what she was doing, he understood her actions... She made herself look smaller by curling in on herself the way she did, and by sitting with the wall at her back she ensured no one could come up on her from behind. But why was the question…

Bellamy was shocked and hurt to say the least… He had no doubt in his mind she was terrified of him in that very moment, but what he couldn’t understand is why. Why?! One minute she was begging him not to leave her, then the next she’s hyperventilating in the corner because of one simple little touch from him, something he’d done a thousand times before.

Clarke continued to gasp for air, her eyes shut tightly and her body shivering and trembling so badly she was practically vibrating with anxiety. He thought he’d been calming her down, and all it had served to do was worsen her already delicate position!

Bellamy was at a loss of what to do, but he got to his feet anyway, taking a step towards her to do what, again he didn’t know, but promptly stopped as the sound of movement seemed to further upset Clarke. Bellamy curse his own inability to do anything to help her… Her breathing was getting more and more ragged as the seconds passed, and Bellamy worried she was going to pass out or harm herself in some way if she didn’t get her breathing under control…

As the thought to call 911 passed through his mind, he heard it… Loud footsteps rushing down the hallway, stopping at Clarke’s door. Bellamy turned to the door behind him as soon as he heard the footsteps, hoping with all that he had left that the person on the other side of the door was Lincoln. Bellamy didn’t have to wait but a split second later to find out who it was, as Lincoln threw open the door and rushed in, not bothering to knock or slow down. Clarke whimpered and ducked her head lower to rest on her knees at the sound… Bellamy didn’t think it was possible, but she made herself look _smaller_ somehow by doing that.

Lincoln took in the scene for a moment before his eyes landed and rested on Clarke… “Clarke?” He called across the apartment in a panicked voice, so much worry and apprehension shone on his face seeing his sister a shaking heap on the floor backed into a corner. Lincoln’s eyes flickered to Bellamy just standing there helpless, and narrowed accusingly, as though saying, _What did you do?_

The real kicker was… Bellamy couldn’t even tell him.

Neither of them had a chance to say anything to each other before both of their attention was back on Clarke, whose head had snapped up immediately upon hearing her brother’s voice. Her eyes flying open to search the room frantically for the source of the voice. She was so pale, and her eyes were so red and bloodshot…

“L-Linc…” She exhaled out quietly upon spotting him, bringing a trembling hand down from her head to hold a shaking finger against her dry lips. Her eyes and movements silently and desperately telling him it was important to be quiet. She beckoned him forward with her other wobbly hand. Bellamy watched as Lincoln took careful measured steps toward her.

Lincoln slowed further though as he neared Bellamy, seeing as how he has to pass right by him to get to her, stopping fully when he was right next to him. Lincoln’s eyes narrowed on him further, his brow creased in confusion.

What Lincoln did next had Bellamy equal parts miffed and confused… The man leaned in and sniffed him for a moment. Bellamy saw something like recognition and then understanding flash in his eyes before he winced. To say Bellamy was perplexed by the _entire_ situation would me a _major_ understatement. What the actual hell was going on around here?!

“It’s you.” He said lowly…

“Me?” Bellamy asked hintingly… Obviously it was him. Why it was him was the key question here.

“You’ve been drinking…” Lincoln sniffed him again. “Out of a freshly opened bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and smoking Marlboro Ultra-lights 100s right?” He guessed. Bellamy nodded hesitantly, wondering how the man could have guesses that all just from smell, and so specifically too, and what that had to do with anything that was going on now. “Yeah…” He said somberly. “That’s what I thought. Again, it’s you.” He said with a shake of his head. He reached around Bellamy and snatched the throw blanket off the foot of the bed and approached Clarke again.

This time he didn’t stop until he was squatting down in front of her, setting the blanket to the side for the moment before grasping her small shaking hands in his much larger steady ones.

“What’s going on sweetheart?” He asked her softly as she continued struggling to pull in air into her deprived lungs.

“He-He’s here.” She whispered fearfully, more tears pooling in her large scared eyes as she scanned he apartment behind her brother. Her eyes passed over the spot where Bellamy was standing like he wasn’t even standing there…. Like she didn’t even _see_ him standing there. Lincoln was nodding along with her, but Bellamy couldn’t see his facial expression seeing as how his back was to him.

Lincoln squeezed her hands once to bring her attention back to him. “Look at me Bug…” He coaxed in a soothing voice. “Start counting.” He instructed in the same tone of voice.

Clarke shook her head frantically, her eyes still locked on her brothers as the tears washed over onto her pale cheeks. “I-I can’t. He-he’s here!” She pleaded with her brother frantically for him to believe her.

“You smelled him right?” Lincoln asked her. Bellamy’s gut sank like a stone in the ocean… _Oh God,_ he thought, _don’t tell me…_

“Y-Yes…” She got out between gulping in lungful’s of air.

“Okay, okay…” He soothed. Lincoln gently pulled her out of the corner and grabbed the blanket from the floor, throwing it around her and wrapping her up in it.

Bellamy himself was now having trouble bringing air into his lungs knowing it was him who had caused her to go into this state of panic… He didn’t know… He didn’t think…

Bellamy was snapped out of his thoughts by Lincoln moving to sit on the floor with his back to the wall to support himself and his feet firmly planted on the floor. He maneuvered a little ungracefully, favoring his still injured side, but didn’t stop moving until he had carefully moved Clarke to sit in between his spread knees with her back to his chest. He wrapped his big arms around her pulling her further into his secure hold, whispering to her the whole time that she was safe, he was safe, and that no one was going to hurt her because big brothers protect their little sisters…

Once she was in place in his firm hold he began instructing her to breathe with him, slowly and deeply. Bellamy watched in fascination as she began to calm down almost immediately… Her breathing pattern matching her brothers, her chest rising and falling with his. It must have hurt the bigger man to take deep breaths like he was with those hurt ribs, but still he endured it for the sake of his sister. After several minutes of this Lincoln spoke, “He’s not here Bug… Remember? Dad took care of him. He’s gone, and he will never hurt you or me ever again.” He swore. She nodded her head weakly, her eyes drooping in exhaustion. “Sleep my little Bug, I’ve got you… You safe.” He murmured to her, before beginning to hum to her lowly. Bellamy watched in fascination as her eyes fluttered close and her head lolled to the side resting half on the older man’s shoulder and half on his bicep.

As she nodded off in the comfort of her brothers arms, Lincoln looked up and noticed Bellamy still standing there stunned. “You should go.” Lincoln said not unkindly. “I’ll talk to you later okay man, but for now I need to take care of her and make sure she’s going to be okay.”

Bellamy nodded mutely, and turned to walk to the door, but before he took a step he turned his head and quietly told Lincoln to talk to Maya, the woman who called him, and let her know things were fine. Lincoln said he would. Bellamy walked to the door, his heart heavy, locking it and closing it behind him before leaning on it heavily. As he stood in the hallway, everything seemed to wash over him.

She had a full blown panic attack because of him… Because she smelled smoke and liquor on him and it reminded her of her abusive kidnapper from when she was a child. He knew she couldn’t help being attacked by her own mind, senses, and emotions the way that had just occurred… He didn’t blame her for any of it… He blamed himself mostly for being the cause of her panic and stress.

He was just so sad and heartbroken and lonely and dejected by everything that had happened. To think that he’d been standing here in this very spot that very morning, kissing her goodbye and promising to see her soon, compared to standing here now with everything that happened, meaning her engagement and the subsequent dissolution of their romantic relationship, the betrayals they had both suffered by the hands of the people who were supposedly supposed to love them, and now her panic attack? Where had things gone so wrong? Where had _he_ gone so wrong? He felt like he was walking a fine line between fear and blame… Fear of the dark future ahead and the blame he wanted to put on everyone else but knew was his and his alone to be permanently placed with.

Clarke was such a strong person, probably the strongest person he’d ever met, and he just saw her break into a thousand tiny little shards, and he’d triggered it… Like a single gust of wind that brought the whole castle of cards down. It was his fault. This proved that even the strongest people break… Didn’t it? Was he next? It sure as hell felt like it.

Bellamy pushed off her door and began to walk down the hallway, no idea where he was going, just knowing he had to leave. He walked down the stairs, through the lobby, and out of the building into the drizzling rain. Bellamy made his way across the street to his car, and got in. He sat in the driver’s seat for who knows how long… Not knowing where to go or what to do.

He didn’t want to go to his penthouse. He didn’t think he could stomach the suffocating lonely walls of his fortress in the sky. No way in hell was he going back to the club… Completely out of the question right now. Who could he go to?

It was late… Almost 11 o’clock. Staring at the clock on the dash, a thought came to him. Bellamy knew where he could go… Somewhere he’d always be accepted and welcome… Somewhere warm with someone comforting. Yes, he knew exactly where he could go.

He started the car while pulling on his seat belt… Taking one last look as the dim lights coming from his princess’s apartment, Bellamy turned his head to face forward and drove off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew!! This was so hard to write, you all have no idea! Anyone wanna guess where Bellamy is going? Lincoln for the save, am I right? Sweet Maya... I want a neighbor like her one day.
> 
> So I'm sure a few of you are mad at the way I've written this chapter or that any of this happened, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Just about everything for this story has been planned, almost from the beginning. Nothing has changed after last chapters unwarranted criticism, and I refuse to change anything to appease a small minority of haters... I knew this scene would be happening in exactly this spot when I first introduced Clarke into the story. If you hate it, sorry, but don't tell me, just stop reading my story. If you love it, I'm SO glad, tell me what you loved. If you have questions or CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, great, tell/ask me in a nice way, and we can talk all about it. Easy-peasy. 
> 
> Who knew the drama from last chapter would come after the chapter was over in the form of a comment war? Crazy right? Well... I learned my lesson from the whole thing. Delete stupid, savage, disrespectful, rude comments from now on instead of answering them. I wasted a good weekend of writing time on those people, and that's the only thing I regret, so for the people who like to attack other people for no reason, leave. If you've got something to actually say, say it nicely and we can talk or its gotta go. Ping... Delete. For everyone else who loves my story and for those of you who defended it and me last chapter... Thank you. Thank you so much for love and support. Know that I am humbled even more by all of your responses to the harsh words I was getting, and that I would defend you as you've defended me in any instance. You all are the reason I keep going when people want to get me down.
> 
> You guys have all been so great to me, and so supportive, and I love each and everyone of you. I appreciate all the well wishes and concern you've all given me and checking in on me when I went AWOL this past month. So... This leads me to my surprise... I'LL BE POSTING ANOTHER CHAPTER TOMORROW NIGHT. Yes, you heard me right. Another chapter tomorrow, Sunday, night. Now, I still want you all to leave me a comment on this chapter and lemme know what you're all thinking. Because I'll be posting another chapter so soon though, I won't be giving a teaser/spoiler for the next chapter.
> 
> Now, an update on my dad. The tests he had done back at the end of December came back showing that his heart was pumping only 30% of the blood it should be, which is not at all good. He was and still is, at a very high risk of having a heart attack or just stroking out without warning, which is terrifying for me and my family. He had to have an coronary angiogram done about two weeks ago, where they went in through his wrist with a small catheter to look at the arteries around his heart to see if there was blockage or maybe a collapsed artery. Thankfully everything came back clear, no blockage detected or closed arteries, so he didn't have to have a pacemaker or stint put in right away and there is a chance his heart can recover and heal if he can keep his blood pressure down. He's currently being forced to wear a special type of vest that monitors his heart and has the capability to shock his heart if it gives out for whatever reason. He's also on medicine to keep his blood pressure low, all of which he hates. You can imagine how terrible this all has been, and then adding on that I had to leave, almost right in the middle of it to go back to school at the beginning of January. I went home practically every weekend in January, and things have only just now settled down to where I can breath a bit... What am I talking about? I have mid-terms for the next 2 weeks, that I should currently be studying for -_- Sigh... Oh well. Thank you all again for the prayers and well wishes, it truly touches me and has really helped me get through this rough time.
> 
> I look forward to hearing from all of you! Oh, and guess who got a Tumblr and has been using it like crazy? This gal!!! Come find me at redhead17x. Yeah... Not hard to find, I know :) I would love to grouch- I mean talk with people about this disastrous rushed show we've been watching... Can we even really call it the 100 anymore?  
> -Redhead17x


	21. A Grandmother's Comfort and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21! Gosh it feels like such a milestone.
> 
> Uh... No warnings (I don't think). So many of you were right in guessing Nonni. I was actually prepared for people to be freaking out thinking he was going to some chicks place... I'm glad to know ya'll read and remembered some of my other authors notes.  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 21- A Grandmother’s Comfort and Love**

Bellamy ignored the rain pelting down on him, drenching him and soaking through his clothes, as the red door to the massive house swam in and out of his view in front of him… One minute it was blurry and then he'd blink and it would be clear only to become blurry once more. He didn't quite know if it was tears or rain blurring his eye sight, but that was just another one of those things that Bellamy couldn't seem to bring himself to care about at that moment… Like the cold that was seeping into his skin, down to his bones. It was actually comforting in a way to be so cold, to _feel_ so cold… It meant he was still physically alive, even if on the inside he was a different kind of cold- the dead kind.

The lights in the house were all off making it look empty and haunted, like the man standing outside contemplating knocking on the door or just leaving. She'd surely be asleep right now… Did he really want to wake her for this? Want to… No. Need to… Yes.

With his mind made up Bellamy pushed off his car that he'd previously been leaning on, and walked forward, having flashbacks of being here only two measly days ago- Walking up to this very same door nervous and anxious to avoid admitting to himself and his grandmother that he loved a girl, and now he was here because his heart was broken and he had to tell her that the same girl he had finally just admitted to loving was now marrying another man… Marrying her other grandson.

Bellamy stepped out of the rain and up to the door, raising his hand curled into a fist, ready to knock on the door. He hesitated for only a moment before knocking loudly thrice and then ringing the doorbell three more times. It was a code of sorts to let her know it was a friendly at her door not an enemy. Bellamy waited a few moments before the stoop light came on, practically blinding him, and he heard the sound of locks on the door disengaging. Bellamy looked down at his soaked clothes and shoes, idly wondering for a moment if she was even going to let him in with how drenched he was.

The door flew open and Bellamy slowly looked up, only to look down the barrel of his grandmother's Glock a mere few inches from his face. Okay… So the whole knocking three times and then ringing the doorbell three times alarm system wasn't fool proof. Had it been in any other situation, Bellamy might have cracked a smile, both in pride and humor, at the sight of his elderly grandmother knowing not to answer the door in the middle of the night without protection… But it wasn't any other situation, and Bellamy didn't smile. In fact, a lump began to form in his throat at the sight of the woman who had been a rock for a majority of his life, helping him along and providing comfort like a guardian angel would a ward.

Bellamy didn't say anything, watching with lifeless eyes as she dropped the gun to her side, squinting to get a better look at him. He surely didn't look very good after the cataclysmic day he'd had…

Amelia took in the sight of her grandson standing in front of her completely drenched from head to toe looking like he just went four rounds with one of those sea monsters that she used to read to him about when he was a child from his mythology books… His wet hair fell down and plastered itself onto his forehead, with water dripping and streaming down his face and defined jawline like little rivulets to collect and drip once more from his chin. His once pressed white button-down shirt was untucked and unbuttoned revealing his white wife-beater undershirt underneath, the sleeves of the button down were rolled down to his wrists, and she swore she saw blood stained on some of the material, but she couldn't see a wound through the material. Was it his blood or someone else's?

All of his wet clothes clung to him like a second skin, but despite the chill in the air, he didn't shake from the cold… She noticed his hands shaking a little though. After effects of adrenaline maybe? Had he gotten into a fight or been jumped?

 _No_ … Amelia thought looking at his dark blank unresponsive gaze. _Something much worse has had to have happened._

"Bellamy? Come inside _Il mio amore (my love)_ …" His grandmother said softly, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. He could hear her close the door behind him and lock it, but Bellamy didn't dare turn to look at her in case she saw how broken inside he was, instead choosing to just stand in her foray looking at the floor. He felt oddly detached from his surrounding… He felt as though he was watching everything happening around him from outside his body. Some kind of surreal out of body experience…

The sound of his grandmother's voice snapped him back though… More specifically her telling him he had to get out of the wet clothes before he caught pneumonia. He watched her stash the gun in the old small roll-top desk she had sitting in her entry way and hurry out of sight. She came back a moment later with a couple of towels, handing him one and laying the other out on the floor, instructing him to stand on it and strip down to his boxers before disappearing upstairs not realizing her words fell on deaf ears.

Bellamy just stood there in a daze… The only sounds in the room being his breathing and the echo of the rain falling heavily on the roof outside. He felt like he was suspended somewhere in time… Lost to oblivion…

Bellamy was startled when he felt a warm hand patting his face insistently, his eyes falling from the random place on the wall that he'd been blankly staring at to look into the eyes of his worried grandmother.

"You have to get dry and warm." She said firmly in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Do you understand _bambino (child)_?" She asked, her hand still resting on his cheek in a gesture of comfort. He could trust his grandmother… She above all else could be trusted. She had never done him wrong or hurt him in anyway… He would do whatever she wanted him to do. She would take care of him like she always had… So Bellamy nodded weakly. "Okay, good." She said with a small smile. "Now, I need those clothes so I can go put them in the wash for you. You can use the bathroom in the hall to get dressed in these dry clothes, okay?" She asked stepping back away from him and turning around to give him some semblance of privacy… It was then that Bellamy saw the clothes tucked under one of her arms.

Bellamy nodded again, not that she saw, and did as she asked removing all of his clothes but his boxers, leaving them in a heap on the towel. He slipped the clean dry clothes from under her arm and picked up the unused dry towel, turning to pad down the hallway to the guest bathroom.

Once the door was closed behind him, Bellamy went through the motions of drying off and getting into the clean underwear, white t-shirt, grey sweat pants, and matching grey zip up hoody his grandmother had grabbed from his drawers up in his room… It was like he was on autopilot the whole time, not even really remembering his movements or the thought process to it. He hung the remaining wet garments over the edge of the bathtub, and turned exiting the bathroom. He just stood in the hallway, having no idea what to do really… Deciding to just go back to the entryway Bellamy turned and walked down the hallway, his footsteps making no noise due to his bare feet. Bellamy wandered into the foray, seeing it spotless… No evidence of him or his mess ever even being there. Bellamy listened carefully for a noise that would clue him in as to where his grandmother might be… After a few beats, he heard light noises coming from the family room, so that's where he headed. A majority of the lights were still off giving an eerie feel when walking through the house.

As Bellamy neared the family room, he heard his grandmother whispering to someone frantically and stopped right outside the big room, leaning against the wall next to the doorway. There was an orange-ish glow emanating from the room… The orange light almost danced along the wall opposite of the room, casting out some of the shadows lingering in the hallway.

Bellamy tuned in to the conversation his grandmother was having, hoping to get a clue as to who she was talking to…

"-your butt over here now." There was a small pause before his ferocious tiny grandmother growled into the phone… "Marcus Kane! Wake your fat rump up this very instant and roll yourself out of that bed, or so help me God I'll…" She was apparently cut off and whatever was said to her did not appease her because she huffed indignantly before beginning to speak again. "You most certainly are not awake! I can hear you falling asleep and snoring on the phone with me now! Listen, its Bellamy, something has happened and he's…" She was cut off again, and this time when she spoke she sounded completely exasperated and determined not to be interrupted again. "Oh for the love of Jesus! I did tell you this was about him you sleepy oaf! That was the second thing that came out of my mouth after I said get up and get over here, but oh noooo! You were still half asleep! What did you think I was calling you for? Huh? To check up on you as 12:30 in the morning? Just get here NOW before I hunt you down and strangle you for trying my patience at this time of the night young man." There was a loud click as she hung up on him. A small smile came to Bellamy's face at his grandmother and uncle's conversation… Marcus was like another son to Amelia, so she treated him thusly. Mostly that meant she was just as savage with him as she was with Damian, and Bellamy, her grandson.

He could hear her muttering to herself about people asking her stupid questions and not listening to their elders. Bellamy stood there silently, guilt starting to build in the pit of his stomach for coming here and waking his elderly grandmother, and in turn having her wake his uncle supposedly on his behalf.

"Bellamy?" She called sweetly, "Come in here _bambino (child)_ , no need to linger in the hall anymore."

Bellamy walked around the corner into view seeing his grandmother standing with her back to him in front of the fireplace stoking the healthy fire built there. So that had been the orange glow he had seen… The flames were what made the light dance across the wall. Idly Bellamy wondered how his grandmother had even known he'd been standing in the hall.

"I could feel the brooding from here _caro (darling)_." She said with a small smirk over her shoulder, making Bellamy realize he must have asked said that out loud.

Bellamy turned his head to the windows looking out over the back yard… It was pitch black outside, but flashes of lightening gave brief glimpses of the orchard and gardens.

"Come here _innamorato (sweetheart)_." His grandmother called to him from across the room, bringing Bellamy's attention back to her. He turned to see her sitting in her old rocking chair in front of the roaring fire with a towel spread across her lap. As he walked over to her she motioned for him to sit down on the floor in front of her. He did as she bid, and when she tugged on one of his shoulders, he leaned back against her legs and almost immediately she leaned his head back to rest on her lap and began drying his hair.

When he was younger, this or combing through his hair with her fingers, was what she would do to help calm him down or comfort him when something particularly upsetting happened in his life… His mother used to do the very same thing. Sometimes she would comb her fingers through his hair to get him to fall asleep. It was a reassuring and soothing gesture for him that started with his mother and continued with his grandmother… His mother would often whisper things like everything would be okay, or that no matter what he had people who loved him more than anything, or that everything works it's self out in the end, no matter how bad it gets. His grandmother often just talked to him until he felt safe enough in his environment and comfortable enough to talk to her, or sometimes she wouldn't say anything at all, her presence being enough.

" _Nipote (grandson)_?" Nonni called to him softly, drawing him from the recesses of his mind after who knows how long, making him look up. She had stopped drying his hair with the towel, and was now just carding her fingers through his messy still damp curls. "Where did you go?" She asked him curiously. Bellamy shook his head and shrugged indifferently, not really knowing what to say to her. "You need a haircut young man, yes?" She asked with raised eyebrows, tugging lightly on a particularly long strand. He nodded halfheartedly, not really caring about such a trivial thing when the whole world seemed to be resting on his shoulders weighing him down. "Do you want to tell me what's going on? What happened maybe?" She hinted.

After a lengthy pause, Bellamy opened his mouth to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat. He wouldn't even know what to tell her if he could speak. _My father and my close mentor betrayed me? My love is marrying my half-brother? I want to run so hard and fast away like a coward, to a place no one would ever find me?_ Bellamy closed his mouth and shook his head no at his grandmother, closing his eyes to escape her questioning stare… No, he didn't want to talk about it. He knew he was going to have to though, but only after his uncle got here… Bellamy swore that after this one last time, he was never going to repeat this tragic story ever again to anyone, even though he would re-live it over and over again everyday 'til the day he died. Somewhere deep down, he knew he'd probably end up breaking the vow he'd just made to himself, but making it then, in that moment, made him feel just a little better, so he went with it.

"Okay…" She relented easily… Very un-Nonni like if you asked Bellamy, but she knew not to push him on this now. "But, I need you to tell me something…" Bellamy opened his eyes and nodded hesitantly for her to continue. "I saw blood. On your shirt. Is it yours?" She asked firmly but with concern lacing her voice. Again, Bellamy could only nod, a tad wearily. "Where did the blood come from?" She asked.

Bellamy sighed heavily and sat up taking off the hoodie, showing her the gash on his forearm. She tsked in disproval, probing the wound… Bellamy didn't even flinch at the pain. Who cared? He'd live. She stood and left the room… Bellamy, too, stood from the floor and walked a few step the sit down on the couch, slumping a bit trying to get comfortable. Once he was finally in just the right spot, of course his grandmother came breezing back into the room demanding he sit up so she could clean and treat his wound. He did as she demanded, not having the strength to argue with her or brush off her concern like he normally would have. Once she was done disinfecting and putting anti-biotic cream on it she taped a piece of gauze over the wound, and stood to put her medical supplies away. Bellamy sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees bringing his hands up to grind his palms into his eye sockets… He felt so exhausted, but awake at the same time.

He heard his grandmother come back into the room and walk over to him. He dropped his hands and looked up at her, only to have her slip a glass of something into his hands and turn to walk away once more, the doorbell having just been rung. Bellamy looked down at the glass, seeing his own eyes widen in horror in the reflection of the amber liquid. Bellamy felt his stomach clench and then roll with nausea as he remembered clear as day, Clarke's terrified eyes after she had smelled the whiskey and smoke on him… How she had recoiled from his touch like he was diseased. God, how he wished he could erase that memory, or better yet, have it never have happened...

The strong smell of the whiskey wafted up from the glass, making him gag. He quickly dropped the glass on the coffee table with a clatter and made a mad dash for the bathroom down the hall, only just barely making it in time to release the contents of his stomach into the toilet. After all the alcohol from earlier at the club was thrown up and there was nothing left in his stomach, he continued to dry heave making horrible retching and choking noises until it stopped. His whole body, drained of any remaining energy he had left, sagged to the side. He narrowly missed hitting his head and knocking himself out on the edge of the tub as he fell to the floor on his front. The cool tile and air swirling around him felt good on his heated skin. Bellamy made no move to get up, just deciding to lie there… Maybe for forever. Who knew?

He heard more than one set of footsteps hurrying down the hall, but he didn't care to look up or try to get up… He was wondering how he was even going to get off the floor at that moment. Did he even want to get up? He'd tried to find answers and comfort at the bottom of a bottle, hoping to find peace or numbness there, whichever didn't matter, and look at where that had landed him… Cold and heartbroken on the bathroom floor. _Oh how the mighty had fallen…_ Bellamy thought sardonically.

"Damn…" Came the familiar gruff voice of his uncle from the open doorway. Suddenly, Bellamy was being hauled to his feet by one of his arms, that very same arm being slung over his uncle's shoulders to help him stand upright as a wave of dizziness washed over him… Bellamy was just grateful his knees didn't buckle. His grandmother was watching them both anxiously from the door.

"No more alcohol." Bellamy said, his voice hoarse and rough. She nodded jerkily as they passed, going back to the family room. Marcus sat Bellamy on the couch and moved the glass of whiskey to the opposite end of the coffee table, furthest away from Bellamy, as Bellamy settled further into the couch. His grandmother came to sit beside him on the couch, turning herself to face him, while Marcus sat on the coffee table directly in front of him.

"She's Jake's daughter you know…" Bellamy said croakily to his grandmother after a moment of silence had passed. He knew she would understand what he was saying.

"I do know _Bambino (child)_ …" His grandmother said shocking him. He turned to look at her completely baffled and feeling slightly betrayed. How had she known something like that when he himself hadn't known? Why didn't she tell him? "I put it together the first time I met her… Why do you think I pushed you both together so hard? I knew then just like I know now, you both are completely perfect for each other." She said beaming at him like she hadn't just dropped a bomb on him… Two really. The first that she knew such important information and didn't tell him, and the second being that she didn't _know_ … She didn't know what had happened earlier that day. He was going to break her heart with his news. Bellamy watched as her joy filled face faded away seeing his own anguished filled one. Bellamy looked down away from her to the floor… "Is that what this is all about Bellamy? It's not that big of a deal grandson… So she's in the same life as the rest of us. That's a good thing." She said convincingly, waiting for him to respond in the affirmative.

The thing was, Bellamy did know that her being in the life was a good thing… Or at least he had, in those precious 20 minutes from when they'd found out about each other to when they learned she had to marry Finn because she was Jake Griffin's daughter. He'd been happy one minute because she understood and didn't judge him for their life, and then in the blink of an eye he was destroyed by it…

No one said anything after his grandmother had spoken. Bellamy just staring mindlessly at a fixed point on the rug, trying to digest the information that had been thrown at him and figure out what to say, while the two adults alternated between exchanging concerned looks with each other and staring at him worriedly.

"What happened Nephew? You're distressing your grandmother." His uncle finally said carefully, watching Bellamy intently.

"Damian procured an arranged marriage for Finn today…" Bellamy said dully, looking up into his uncle's eyes. Neither men gave anything away to the other as they both analyze each other…

"Did you know about it?" Bellamy asked, his anxiety skyrocketing at the thought that his uncle might have known something.

"No…" Marcus said looking down and shaking his head before looking up again, curiosity blazing in his eyes. "But I want to know why you care so much. I told you this would probably be happening…"

"It's the who, Uncle… Who he's engaged to is what I care about. It's her that is important." Bellamy said hintingly feeling his grandmother stiffen next to him. He took a quick glance at her, seeing her face slowly fill with horror.

"Speak straight with me here Nephew." Marcus said regaining Bellamy's attention. He was quickly getting annoyed by the younger man's elusive words.

"Damian is going to marry Finn off to Jake Griffin's daughter, Charlotte Clarke Griffin, in exchange for manpower, weapons and supplies for this war he's got going on with the Canadians." Bellamy said simply.

"I'm still not following…" Marcus said with a confused tilt of his head. Bellamy sighed, looked down at the rug, and began to tell his uncle and grandmother the story exactly how he told his guys… Major events, no details, glossing over some of the more intimate moments he and Clarke shared, giving a brief overview of their getting together, and picking up with the meeting and finding out who she was. From there he told them a basic summery of what was said by everyone, the deal made, and the aftermath all the way up to showing up on Nonni's doorstep a little over an hour ago. His voice never fluctuated with emotion, staying a flat monotone the whole time he described what had happened.

When he was finished, Bellamy took a brief glimpse at his uncle, immediately adverting his eyes again seeing the pity that shone deep in his eyes. He wanted no man's pity, not even his uncle's… It was then that Bellamy noticed something odd… Something completely out of the ordinary, almost shockingly so… His grandmother hadn't said anything.

She had not uttered one peep, gasp, or squeak of shock since he had started his story. Bellamy slowly turned his head to look at her, finding no evidence of any emotion that he thought would be present after he revealed the events of the last 36 hours… No anger, shock, disbelief, outrage, pity, ire, wrath… Nothing. She was completely calm as far as Bellamy could tell… Totally serene… The perfect picture of peaceful…

She stood and said with a blank in a neutral tone, "I think we need some tea. I'll be back in a moment with a tray." Before exiting the room. Bellamy looked back down at the floor.

His uncle was the one to break the silence that had settled over them both. Studying Bellamy he said, "I'm sorry this happened to you Nephew… You know I'll help you get through this any way possible. I know you probably don't believe me right now, and it doesn't seem like it, but it will get better. It will stop hurting and you will see that maybe in the long run she wasn't worth it… If you need to talk-" He said putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder in a supportive gesture meant to be comforting.

Bellamy immediately shrugged the hand off, not being able to stand being touched at that moment, and cut the older man off before he could continue, simply saying, "No."

Bellamy looked up into the confused eyes of his uncle not seeing any comprehension or understanding in them. "You can't fathom…" Bellamy started, and abruptly stopped, taking a deep breath before picking up saying, "While I appreciate that you care, you have no idea of what I've just lost. Hell, I didn't even truly know what I had to lose 'til it all vanished. She's gone, and I feel like someone just died, and I hurt all over in a way I haven't felt in a _very_ long time. In no way do I want to talk about any of it. You can't help me… No one but her can. I can't imagine a time when this won't hurt, just like I can't imagine a time when I will think she wasn't worth it, so don't tell me that bullshit right now Uncle… Not when I'm bleeding out on the ground with the knife my father put in my back still there. Everything literally just happened, and I can't bear to be told those things right now or ever for that matter, so just- Just don't. I already regret so much." He said simply, staring down his uncle. The raw anguish and pain heard in the younger man's voice and seen in his eyes made Marcus flinch and look away.

"What do you regret?" Marcus asked quietly.

"I regret that I didn't make a move until it was too late. I regret how I missed or ignored all the signs of her being Jake's daughter. I regret the time we wasted… _I_ wasted… Not being together sooner. I regret never telling anyone about her, instead choosing to selfishly keep her to myself, afraid she'd forget about me or leave me for new people. I regret not telling her…" Bellamy stopped, the words once again getting lodged in his throat. "So much." He finally choked out thinking about how he'd never told her he loved her. "I regret drinking before I went over to her place. I regret not being able to keep her safe like I swore I would. I regret what I know I'm eventually going to have to do. I regret... Literally so much right now it's making my head spin." Bellamy said dropping his head into his hands and rubbing his face warily.

"Do you regret meeting her? Do you regret her at all? Maybe she was a mistake?" Marcus asked in an inquiring tone looking back to Bellamy in time to see Bellamy's head shooting up to stare at him in horror.

"No, absolutely not." Bellamy said without hesitation. "I may regret a lot of things, both about what happened and in my life in general, but she will _never_ be one of those things. _If_ she was a mistake, if meeting her and getting to know her was a mistake, which I don't think it was, then that was the _best_ damn mistake I _ever_ made, and ever _will_ make. " Bellamy emphasized making it clear to his uncle how serious he had been about this girl.

"I need you to give me more Nephew… I just don't seem to be grasping what could have you so into this girl. You've never been like this with anyone before, and it's baffling to say the least. If I didn't know better, I'd say you've had a spell put on you. Just tell me why her… Why you're so sure you won't be able to move on from this. Forgive and forget as it were…" His uncle pleaded with him for understanding.

Bellamy shook his head. "I can't tell you because you don't know her like I do. You don't know what it's like be on the receiving end of one of her smiles or laughs, much less to be the cause of one. You don't know what it's like to hear her say my name or sigh it when she's asleep. You don't know the joy I feel just being in her presence alone. You don't know how it feels to hold her… Smell her… Kiss her. I do… My chest aches with all these memories I have, knowing I'll never again have any of that with her or have the chance to make new ones. I don't want someone else... It would only tarnish the memories I have with her, and what's the point of someone new when all I want is her? It's not fair to anyone. She was my every wish, my saving grace, my angel… She knows things about me no one else does, and she accepted me for who I am, not who I have to be for everyone else. She didn't try to change me…" _And now she's gone._ Bellamy finished silently in his head. Marcus didn't say anything, feeling the younger man had said it all really.

Amelia slowly entered the room a moment later carrying a small tray. Marcus jumped to grab it from her setting it down on the table in front of Bellamy where he'd previously been sitting. The tray had three tea cups sitting on saucers, with dark liquid swirling around in the cup as steam rose off the hot liquid. There was also a little glass bowl filled to the brim with sugar cubes, a spoon sitting beside it, and a stack of napkins on the tray.

His grandmother followed in Marcus's wake stopping at the foot of the table to stare blankly down at the tray. "Oh…" She said in a small detached voice. "Looks like I forgot the cream… Oops. You'll have to excuse me for a moment while I go get it." She said blinking once before turning around and leaving the room once more… Still Bellamy could get no read on her. She wasn't showing any type of emotions, and she seemed completely off.

Bellamy looked to his uncle for an explanation, but only got a shrug in response. Marcus sat down beside Bellamy and began preparing his tea, throwing at least 5 sugar cubes in before stirring and taking an experimental sip, nodding in satisfaction at the taste of his drink. Bellamy didn't really want to drink the tea, but decided a sip wouldn't hurt to get rid of the stale taste in his mouth. So he too picked up a cup, his hand trembling still, nearly sloshing the contents over the rim of the cup, and carefully took a small sip of the hot bitter liquid… It definitely helped with the taste in his mouth. He slowly brought the small cup down to the table…

"YOU RAT!" He heard his sweet grandmother bellow loudly, causing his uncle to choke on the second sip of tea he'd just taken. Bellamy startled so bad, his already unsteady hands jerked, sending some of the scalding liquid onto his hand holding the cup, the skin between his thumb and index fingers and the fingers themselves getting the brunt of the red-hot liquid. It burned for a moment making Bellamy hiss in surprise at the stinging pain… Bellamy quickly put the cup down and wiped the liquid off using one of the napkins on the tray. Marcus was still coughing beside him, but was getting himself under control.

His grandmother's voice could be heard with 100% clarity from down the hallway, echoing slightly, and oh boy was she pissed. As to the who, well, Bellamy had a pretty good guess… "-you do this to him you absolute good-for-nothing cad?" There was a slight pause before she began speaking once again, her rage no less dimed. "What do you mean 'What are you talking about mother?'? What the hell do you think I'm talking about you swine? I'm talking about your oldest son, showing up on my doorstep, almost catatonic, completely soaked and devastated, telling me how you're making Clarke marry Finn! Oh my poor little darling! Now you listen to me you little weasel… You had better fix this…" There was another break in her ranting, this time when she started talking, her wrath seemed to have grown if that was even possible. Bellamy could tell because she was speaking in a low menacing tone, gritting her teeth it sounded like… When she got quiet? Run. "Interrupt me again Damian Collins, and I will hunt you down and murder you. I brought you into this world, don't think I can't take you right back out if I so choose. I was talking about Clarke, not Finn, you dog… She's the poor little darling I was talking about. You just made the biggest mistake of your life, and you don't even see it do you? You'll never change will you? You do things for yourself, never thinking of others, and the consequences your actions will have on those closest to you. Maybe this is my fault… I wasn't a good enough parent to you. Was that it?" There was a long lengthy pause, before he heard her speak again. "Obviously I did something wrong because you just forced a sweet girl, whom I happen to like very much, to marry your youngest son when she is clearly in love with your oldest. For the love of God, pull your head out of your ass and take a look around you. For once in your life, don't be your father's son and look at the _people_ around you! You're losing everyone, me included…"

Bellamy stood from the couch, his chest hurting something fierce hearing his grandmother claim that Clarke loved him, instead of the other way around… While he didn't know if her statement was true, or even if the declaration had a kernel of truth to it, he'd never get the chance to know for sure now would he? He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse that he didn't know if she too could possibly love him. If she had loved him and told him so, it would have killed him, for sure, to walk away or let her walk away from him… He wouldn't have been able to do it. He would have run after her like he'd wanted to do earlier... So maybe it was a good thing he didn't know. The blessing if you will. Yet, a part of him was dying to know how she felt about him. Had she just been passing the time and figured he'd be fun to mess around with? Had she been thinking long term like he had been? Had he been crazy thinking they could have had something more? On one hand it did seemed crazy that she could love someone like him, especially after such a short time knowing each other. On the other, he _knew_ he loved her after only knowing her a little over a month, so maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. As he stated before… It was both a blessing and a curse to have not known how deeply (or not) she felt about him.

He took that moment when he heard his grandmother stop talking to turn to his uncle, quietly saying, "I'm going to bed." His uncle nodded, but before Bellamy could move towards the door, he heard his grandmother begin speaking again.

"What do I mean by that?! I mean that if you can't fix this then I never want to see your face again! I had a plan damn it! To make sure my lonely grandson got the person he deserved and that he was set for life with a good woman who would be his equal and partner, and you just ruined it!" She shrieked making Bellamy wince… She was going to break glass if she kept that up. There was another pause, but Bellamy didn't move knowing his grandmother probably had more to say to his father, and he wanted to hear it. Sure enough a moment later, "Don't you dare come over! If you were in front of me right now, hand to God, I would strangle the life out of you. I think it's best if you avoid me for a while… Don't come to church or dinner or anything that even remotely has me involved." Bellamy took that moment to slowly make his escape from the family room to the shadows of the stairs.

"No…" His grandmother's voice sounded from the kitchen. She was using a much calmer tone. "I will never tell you not to go to church. Your right. Put it to you like this… Find a new church to go to or come to mine and stay completely out of my sight. If I see you, I will drown you in the holy water before you can even blink and you'll be singing with the angels come lunchtime. Do you understand me Damian?" There was a brief pause, before she said, "Good. I'm glad we can come to an understanding. I love you too… I always will, but that doesn't mean that I'm not mad as hell at you right now, and just completely disappointed and disgusted with you. Our relationship from now on is dictated by what happens to Bellamy." The resounding click of the 'end' button on the house phone could be heard echoing throughout the house. All was silent for a moment before light footsteps coming down the hall could be heard going towards the family room. Bellamy could see from where he stood in the shadows leaning against the wall on the second stair, his grandmother stop in the doorway and look around the room before entering slowly, moving out of Bellamy's view.

He heard his grandmother ask Marcus concerned, "Where did he go?"

Marcus replied, "He said he was going upstairs to bed."

Bellamy heard his grandmother sigh heavily before the old squeak of her sitting down in her old rocking chair by the fire could be heard. "Good. Poor thing needs the rest." She said desolately. "I should have known better… Things were going so great between the two, and now I fear this mess will ruin the both of them. Tell me Marc… Is there anything that can be done?"

"I'm sorry Mi-Mi…" His uncle said using the special nickname he had for the older woman he'd known for a majority of his life. "I can't think of one single thing that can help or change things." Came his uncle's saddened voice. They obviously didn't know Bellamy could hear them and was listening to every word they were saying.

"First love is hard enough in and of itself," His grandmother said softly, making Bellamy strain his ears to hear her. She sounded so wistful and sad. "and even worse to give it up the way they just did. My heart goes out to them both. He's never going to be able to let her go much less forget her, and she's never going to be able to move on with Bellamy around silently holding onto her. They're going to be stuck in the past for the rest of their lives with regrets, wishes, and those pesky 'what-ifs' surrounding them and dragging them back, as everything passes them by continuing forward. Because of this, they'll spend the rest of their lives pining for one another."

"How do you know?" Marcus asked her quietly, questioningly.

"Because they didn't want to let each other go." His grandmother said simply. "Had their relationship continued without this whole thing happening and fizzled out on its own, well then they would have made the conscious decision to separate and go their own ways… They'd have known it wouldn't have worked no matter what they did and they would've accepted it, because they gave it their best shot already. Then there's the bigger probability that they would have been happy, forever… Their relationship never fizzling or burning out. The point is, they will never know what would have happened, and that will haunt them for the rest of their lives." Bellamy closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall… His worst fears confirmed and voiced aloud it seemed.

"How are you so sure they would have lasted?" His uncle asked, confused it sounded like.

"Because they were perfect for each other. They complimented each other so well… You could see it in the way they looked at each other and interacted with each other. I had Bellamy bring her over with him for Thursday night dinner, two Thursday's ago I believe, and… Just… It was so amazing to watch. His eyes were always on her when she was in the room, and if he left, she was watching the door for him to come back. They had this… I don't even know how to describe it… Pull, I guess. They seemed to gravitate back to one another, and know each other well enough to exchange conversations with just looks. When we went out for lunch one Sunday after church, Bellamy couldn't seem to keep the smile off his face. You _know_ our Bellamy smiles hardly ever… Only in rare instances really. His eyes were so bright and he was so content… I'd never seen him like that. She was pulling him out of his shell, making him happy… And now that it's seemingly over, I can't help but be afraid of how he's going to pull back now. God that poor girl, she must be a complete mess right now… I love her as if she were one of my own you know, and so this hurts two-fold for it to have happened to both her and Bellamy. They had such a rare connection, and I loved seeing them together just because of how happy they were… No way were they not going to last."

"I'm so upset I never got to see that… Never got to see him like that." His uncle said morosely.

"Yes… It was something else to behold, let me tell you." His grandmother sighed heavily. There was a long heavy moment where neither of them spoke, just the gentle squeaking of his grandmother swaying the old rocking chair back and forth.

"God!" His uncle groaned breaking the peaceful moment. "What a cluster-fuck this whole thing is!"

"Language!" His grandmother spit with bite.

"You literally just said so many curse words-" There was the cracking sound of something being hit before an "Ouch damn it, that hurt!" rang out down the hall. She probably hit him with her backscratcher… Or the fire poker. It depended on what was within reach and nearest.

"Do you want to finish that sentence you dunderhead? Do as I say, not as I do. Good Lord… Children now-a-days… All backtalk, no respect for their elders…" His grandmother began, working herself up to full steam and a full on rant.

"Okay! Okay!" His uncle acquiesced, trying to avoid the tirade no doubt was coming. "What a mess, blunder, disarray… Take your pick. I feel so terrible for him… Poor kid doesn't deserve any of this." His uncle lamented. "I can't even do anything for him, to help him get her out of this because the bargain has been struck… There is no going back now." The frustration and helplessness in his uncle's voice could be heard clear as day. "What do we do Mi-Mi? How do we help him get through this?"

His grandmother sighed heavily. "We just have to trust and pray that things will work themselves out in the end for our dear boy… For the better of course, and that this doesn't completely break his soul or hers in the process. Maybe this is a divine test of some sort for them both… To what end, and the outcome, well, only the good Lord knows that, now doesn't he..." His grandmother said in a somber yet pensive tone, the words lingering heavily in the air for both adults and their unknown silent listener.

Bellamy took that moment to escape to his bedroom on the second floor, avoiding the creaks in the floor along the way as to not make any noise and alert his grandmother and uncle of his lurking.

* * *

 

Lying in bed, his body exhausted, but his mind full, sleep seemed to elude him. Bellamy lay there all night looking out the window across from his bed.

The rain had stopped at some point and the skies cleared allowing the moon to shine down… Slowly, Bellamy watched as night turned into day, the yellow and orange colors of dawn breaking across the skies cutting through the inky blackness of night, illuminating the day. Still, Bellamy didn't actually make a move to get up until 8 AM, when he was sure his grandmother would have left for church. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet coming to rest on the cold wood floors. He rubbed his hands over his face warily… To say he felt like total crap would be a major understatement.

Bringing himself to his feet, Bellamy stumble to the dresser across from his bed, grabbing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt to change into out of the drawers. Walking into the bathroom, his eyes were drawn to the figure reflected in the mirror above the sink… He did not look like himself at all. His eyes were red and blood shot with deep dark circles under them, more pronounced it seemed by the pallid hue of his normally rich tan skin. His curls on top of his head were crazy as usual, while his jaw and chin were covered in stubble creating a perfect 5 o'clock shadow look… He looked wrecked, and not in a good way.

Turning his back on his reflection, Bellamy went through the motions of getting dressed and ready to leave. He left the room exactly how it was before he'd used it and walked down the stairs, freezing on the next to last step hearing movement in the kitchen… Pots and pans being moved about, plates clattering together, and the sound of the silverware drawer begin wrenched open were all noises heard. Okay, so his grandmother apparently wasn't going to church today… She was still here and he needed to go…

Bellamy eyed the front door in front of him wondering if he could make it before she caught him… He stepped down onto the last step, the cursed thing making the loudest squeaking noise known to man it seemed, alerting the whole house surely to his presence. The movement in the kitchen stopped abruptly, before, "Bellamy Alexander Blake! Get in here young man, and stop sneaking about! You aren't a mouse you know!" His grandmother hollered, making Bellamy roll his eyes and sigh heavily. "And stop rolling your eyes! Have I taught you nothing? It's disrespectful!"

Bellamy sighed again and made his way to the kitchen… She knew him too damn well. Walking in, his suspicions about his grandmother making breakfast were confirmed as she was plating up bacon, eggs and toast on two plates.

"Where's Uncle Marc?" Bellamy asked, his voice hoarse from sleep as he looked around the kitchen.

"Sleeping… You know your uncle. Man could sleep through a tornado if his sleep schedule is interrupted even in the slightest." His grandmother said with fond exasperation. "Sit." She commanded waving him to the stool in front of a plate of food. "Eat your breakfast. You need to get your strength back."

"But Nonni-" Bellamy started, not hungry even in the slightest.

"Don't you even finish that sentence…" She said narrowing her eyes on him. "I'll make you sit here all day until you eat something, don't think I won't because I will. Now, I prefer not to of course, because I have other things to do today, but I'll save them for another day if you decide to be difficult. Good Lord knows when that last time you ate something was… I can practically see you wasting away in front of me."

Bellamy relented, knowing she was dead serious… She chattered to him about random useless crap as they ate and cleaned up. Thankfully his grandmother didn't notice that he mostly pushed the food around on his plate to make it look like he had ate… If she did notice, she didn't say anything. He knew what his grandmother was trying to do, and bless her heart, it was almost working… Bellamy very nearly felt that everything was normal, and none of the day before had happened. Nearly.

He left her on her door stoop with a kiss to her cheek, a promise to eat and a promise call her the next day… The drive home was uneventful, and passed in a blur. He hardly even remembered it. He parked his car in the garage and made his way over to the elevator, pressing the button before waiting. As the doors began to open, Bellamy felt the presence of someone come up behind him.

"I was wondering when I'd be seeing you…" Bellamy muttered loud enough for the man to hear, not bothering to turn around to look at him, knowing already who it was. Instead he chose to walk into the waiting elevator before turning around. Bellamy jerked his head gently backwards and to the side in a 'come on' motion, scanning his finger print and hitting the button for the penthouse such to get the elevator car moving. The doors closed, sealing the two men in as the elevator began moving upwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I don't know when I'll be updating again... I want to say towards the very end of February. Exams should be over then, so a couple of weeks maybe? Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers for both the exams and my dad... I so appreciate them.
> 
> So... You know whats coming... What did you think? Did you fall in love with Nonni a little more here or what? What about the fact that she knew who Clarke was and didn't say anything? I told you someone knew several chapters ago... Did anyone call it? Should Bellamy have been more upset do you think, or was it okay seeing as how she had good intentions behind it? What about Marcus... Anyone annoyed by him? He was having a hard time figuring out what was going on, wasn't he... Basically me for an hour after I get up in the mornings. Lol... Lastly, who showed up at the end of the chapter?
> 
> Hit me up over on Tumblr (redhead17x)! I love talking you you all. :)  
> -Redhead17x


	22. Trials and Tribulations, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys... So sorry for such a looonnnnggg wait. God, months its been... I promise I've not abandoned this story, there has just been a lot of harsh real life stuff that's been going on, and as much as I try, its gotten me down a bit and hindered my writing.
> 
> Warning: This chapter delves into the time during which Clarke and Lincoln were kidnapped, so very dark stuff here. There is some physical and mental abuse, as well as a brief mention of sexual assault (three paragraphs, and nothing actually happens)... For those of you who wish to not read that, skip the first 3 italic paragraphs after Lincoln says there were 2 very close calls, and you should be good.  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 22- Trials and Tribulations, Part 1**

_(Previously on Lips of an Angel)_

_"I was wondering when I'd be seeing you…" Bellamy muttered loud enough for the man to hear, not bothering to turn around to look at him, knowing already who it was. Instead he chose to walk into the waiting elevator before turning around. Bellamy jerked his head gently backwards and to the side in a 'come on' motion, scanning his fingerprint and hitting the button for the penthouse to get the elevator car moving. The doors closed, sealing the two men in as the elevator began moving upwards._

The two men were completely silent as the elevator traveled up to the top floor… They still said nothing as they entered Bellamy's apartment, Bellamy automatically leading them to the kitchen. "Want something to drink?" Bellamy asked gruffly, already grabbing a water from the fridge for himself.

"Nah… I'm good." Came the bored voice of one Lincoln Griffin from across the room, leaning on the door jamb, completely relaxed in Bellamy's living space it seemed. "You look like shit you know."

"Yeah, thanks." Bellamy said sarcastically. "I feel worse than I look, so thanks for reminding me you jerk." He said without real heat, rolling his eyes and heading for his great room. Bellamy placed the water bottle onto the coffee table before dropping to sit on the end of one of the couches. He ran a hand over his face tiredly. "What are you doing here man? Other than to kick a man when he's already down… Is Clarke okay?" He asked monotonously. He was pleased when his voice didn't break on her name, and counted that as a small victory… Victory for what, he didn't know.

"I came to talk… Seemed like something we needed to do. Bug was still sleeping when I left her place about an hour and a half ago. We uh… Had a rough night you could say." Lincoln said a little miserably, taking a seat on the other couch and looking out the long wall of windows overlooking the city. "Nice place you got." He commented off handedly.

Bellamy swallowed thickly hearing Clarke had a bad night… He didn't want that for her. "Did your parents leave yesterday?" Bellamy asked after several moments of silence.

"Yeah… Took them to the hotel so they could get their stuff and then took them straight to the airport yesterday afternoon. Put them on the first plane out of New York myself." He said, as Bellamy nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. They had to go…" Bellamy said curtly. The bitterness he felt in his heart towards Jake came back with a vengeance in that moment, taking his breath away with the intensity and force of it.

"Where did you go last night after you left?" Lincoln inquired curiously, interrupting Bellamy's resenting thoughts. "You look like you didn't sleep a wink."

"My grandmother's place, and I didn't… Couldn't seem to bring myself to actually fall asleep." Bellamy said quietly, looking out at the beautiful day it seemed to be outside. It actually hurt to see so perfect a day after such a tragedy… Should it not be grey outside? Shouldn't the world be mourning his loss too? Should it not be dark and gloomy like the day before? Apparently not. The world kept moving on, passing him by, as his whole world revolved and fell around the previous day's events… Had it only been yesterday when everything had gone to hell? It seemed like days ago, or months even. His concept of time was dangerously close to slipping away it seemed.

"You know none of what happened last night was your fault right? You did the right thing by having Maya call me… Clarke was going to fall apart with or without anyone there-"

"Yes, but it was because I hugged her, smelling like smoke and alcohol, that she had a panic attack." Bellamy interrupted harshly, his eyes narrowing on Lincoln. It was his fault and to be told otherwise was registering in his mind as pity. The masochist and self-loathing parts in him loved the blame being placed with him- rightfully so- and to have that taken away felt like a slight or an offense. It felt like Lincoln pitied him and was just trying to placate him… Make him feel better as it were, and Bellamy didn't- No, couldn't- handle that at the moment. He didn't want the other man's sympathy or comfort.

"Did you know?" Lincoln asked with a bit of a bite, narrowing his eyes back at Bellamy, refusing to back down. "Did you know it was going to trigger one of the most severe anxiety attacks she's ever had?" Bellamy flinched hearing it described to him like that. "No, you didn't know, so how could it have been your fault?"

"What's the difference?" Bellamy asked looking down to his cold water bottle on the table, condensation now covering the plastic.

"What's the difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack? Well you saw both. From what Clarke and Maya told me, and what I could piece together on my own, she was in the middle of a full on panic attack when you showed up… It's unpredictable, usually brought on by fear or panic, comes on fast, and last for about 10 to 30 minutes. She's never had one that lasted for an hour. Anxiety attacks are triggered, as you saw last night, and can involve flashbacks. A smell, a picture, a noise, a voice, a touch- practically anything really, can trigger one for anybody who's been through something traumatic, it just depends on the experience and the person. While the symptoms of an anxiety attack are generally the same as those of a panic attack, with a few variances and exceptions, the anxiety can last a lot longer… Sometimes for days, weeks, or months even. Now Clarke has never been so bad off that the anxiety lasted for weeks or months… We found that once she identifies and works through the anxiety, she's fine, or if she has someone she trusts there with her. We both have a doctor we see now who…"

"What kind of doctor?" Bellamy asked immediately. Lincoln rolled his eyes at Bellamy's interruption, but spoke anyway.

"She's a… Just a doctor man. I don't know what to call her really because she does so much. Dad has had her on the payroll for the Family since before she graduated med school. She's in her early-30's I'd say, but she doesn't look it. She looks way younger, but I'm too terrified to ask her age… She's a ball buster for sure. Real no-nonsense type of person. She borrowed a lot of money from the Family to get through medical school, but paid it all back and began working for us. She does practically everything from treating a nasty ass cold, to setting a bone, to pulling a bullet out of someone… On the legit side she owns a private psychiatry practice. Now, don't go thinking we're both crazy because we see a psychiatrist not a psychologist. While there is a difference, it doesn't matter to us because she acts as our psychologist more than anything. She's never had to prescribe us any drugs or anything. Her title as a psychiatrist is just that… A title." Lincoln said glaring at Bellamy, immediately taking a defensive stance even though Bellamy had made no negative or adverse reaction to the information. Bellamy shook his head, holding his hands up in an innocent gesture. Truthfully, the thought to judge either of them for seeing that type of doctor hadn't even crossed his mind, nor would it have…

It was obvious to Bellamy that when this little fact had been revealed about Clarke or Lincoln, or perhaps both of them, to other people in the past, they were both judged severely for it. Bellamy of course hadn't even thought to judge either of them simply because he wasn't that type of person. It was clear to Bellamy that after their ordeal, they both would have needed help. Bellamy was just happy that they had found someone who could help them both get through it. Why judge someone for getting the help they needed? That was stupid.

"So, anyway, my dad had us go to her a several years back after our last psychologist retired… He was the one who saw us both right after we escaped that hell hole with the Burke's. Clarke was 12 and I was about 15 or 16 at the time of the escape/rescue/near death experience?" Lincoln said thoughtfully, the statement coming out as a question with him being unsure of his exact age. It had, after all, been so long ago.

"I need you to do something." Bellamy said after a moment of silence had descended over them. Lincoln gave him a questioning look, prompting Bellamy to continue. "I need you to tell me your story… From the beginning." Lincoln's face darkened tremendously, obviously not liking the idea. Bellamy could relate to his unwillingness to share the details of his past, but he felt it was necessary. Bellamy felt this deep urge to understand fully what had happened during their time in captivity, and where Lincoln came from… He wanted to know why they were so close. He wanted to know how his Clarke, the one he knew as sweet, kind, gentle, and understanding, could be that way after such an ordeal… That is, if the real thing had been as bad as what his overactive imagination had been conjuring up all these years, if not worse. Jake had only given him a brief look at what had happened to his kids, and that had been _years and years_ ago. He wanted an in-depth, fresh look from Lincoln, who had actually lived through the whole terrible ordeal. He wanted the full story, so he could finally understand and hopefully begin putting the pieces in his mind together about exactly just who Charlotte Clarke Griffin was. Mainly, Bellamy wanted to know how she could be this completely other person… Could be the daughter of a mob boss, who was rumored to have killed so many people, when all he saw was just his Clarke. There were obviously two very different sides to her, and he'd only seen one… Was one of them a lie? A cover, and if so, which one? Was it the one he knew?

Lincoln stared at him for- Bellamy had no idea how long… Hours, minutes, seconds? He didn't know… All he knew was Lincoln was searching Bellamy's face and eyes for something, and in the end he must have found what he was looking for, because he caved with a sigh, a hand running wearily over his face. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything… Start from the very beginning, leave nothing out." Bellamy said quickly, coming off a bit more eager than he intended to, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

"Okay…" Lincoln took a deep breath, wincing and grabbing his ribs gently… Bellamy guessed they might have been re-bruised after holding Clarke earlier, trying to regulate her breathing. "I was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Indra Williams. She had no family and my biological father remains to this day unknown. He's not listed on my birth certificate, and I have no memories of him, so I reckon he was a deadbeat who ran off when he heard I was coming or didn't know about me to begin with…

"Anyway, she was a single mom who worked her ass off to take care of us, and despite times being tough, we had a pretty good life… We didn't live on the best side of town, but we had a roof over our heads. I had clothes on my back even if they were second hand, and food in my stomach even if it was just cereal or hot dogs and box mac and cheese over and over again until I was sick of it. I didn't realize until years later how good I had it then… Fast-forward four years after I was born, and she died in a mugging coming home late one night from the diner she worked at. It was actually her second job. I don't remember much about her other than what I could look up… I just know that she loved me. I had no family to speak of, and no one stepped forward to claim me, so I went into the system, and bounced around there for about 7-8 years, winding up living all over the great state of Georgia. When I was about 11 years old, I wound up back in Atlanta, and was placed with an elderly woman named Helen. She was by far the nicest of all the foster families I'd had up to that point… She treated me like I was her family. Her husband had died about four years previously, and they had both fostered and adopted more than 20 kids during their entire marriage. All of them had grown up and gone to college, started lives… I was the first kid she had taken in since he died of cancer. She immediately started the proceedings to adopt me, telling me she had no plans to give me back or for me to go live anywhere else. She put me in school right away… I was a month late coming in, but I caught up quickly.

"Living with Helen was a breath of fresh air… I was never hungry or lacking basic things like I had been in some of the other homes I'd been in. She never put a limit on the amount of showers I was allowed to take in a given week. She always walked me to the bus stop in the mornings, and was there when I got off in the afternoons. She never beat or hit me for anything, whether I did something wrong or not. It was truly the best place I had been in… Well, forever. She would tuck me in at night and read to me from the Bible, making sure I said my prayers before leaving me for the night. She made us go to church without fail every Sunday morning and evening, and on Wednesday nights. When I would come home from school in the afternoons she would help me with my homework making sure I did it all and did it right, and then she would have me help her with things around the house… Painting shutters, planting and weeding her garden and rose beds, sweeping the floors, dusting high places using a ladder seeing as how she was too old and frail to reach them herself or use the ladder trying. Every night when we sat down for dinner, after grace, she'd have me run and turn on her cable TV and turn it to Wheel of Fortune, and we'd watch that while eating supper. We had a great routine. We celebrated Thanksgiving together, along with some the other kids she had fostered and adopted that came home to see her for the holiday. Not all of them could come, but the ones who did come brought their wives or husbands and their kids. I was welcomed warmly there, and actually enjoyed the holiday instead of loathing it like I had come to in all the years leading up to it. Christmas was much the same, just with a little more hoopla because of it being my birthday and there being gifts for the holiday… My birthday is December 24th, and I remember being shocked she actually baked me birthday cake and that her and some of the other kids had gotten me gifts. It was the best 12th birthday slash Christmas any kid like me could have asked for.

"The only two gifts I can distinctly remember getting for both my birthday and Christmas was a new basketball, and a pocket watch that was once Helen's late husbands. Helen said her husband had given every one of their sons a pocket watch when they got to be my age, and although he wasn't there with them anymore, he would have wanted her to give me one, so she decided to give me one of his old ones that she had kept instead of buying a new one… She gave me a bit of history to it, explaining it had been his favorite because it was his very first pocket watch given to him by his father. It was a round shiny silver pocket watch with a detailed engraving of a freight train on the front. It was very well taken care of, and I treasured it dearly…"

"I eventually made friends with some of the neighborhood boys," Lincoln continued. "about 4 to 5 months after moving in with Helen. It was right after all the holidays, when school was back in session. She always encouraged me to make friends, even from the beginning, but I had thought up to that point that making friends was futile. I only stayed in a placement for a couple of months, maybe a little longer, and then I was gone again. Why put myself, and them, through the heartbreak when I eventually left, ya know? I eventually realized Helen had no intention of sending me back, and she sat me down one day and told me how having friends, having people period, in your life was a good thing. It ensured I wouldn't grow up to be a lonely grouchy hermit, like our neighbor Mr. Huddlestone. She set ground rules that I was to follow of course. No drugs. No smoking. No gang related friends or activity, or she'd make me clean the house from top to bottom and attend the summer long church youth camp they did every year. No way was I doing that." Lincoln said shaking his head with a rueful little grin playing at the corner of his mouth. "So I made sure to stay on the straight and narrow. The neighborhood boys and I would go to the basketball court that was on a corner lot up the street. We'd use my basketball because no one else had one, and we'd play a couple of games a few days out of the week in the afternoons 'til it was time to go home. The curfew Helen gave me was about 5:30. It got me home before dark, and in time to do my homework before we ate dinner." Lincoln took a deep breath, seemingly taking a moment to prepare himself for what he had to say next. Bellamy took a deep breath as well, in anticipation for what was coming and listened closely. This was obviously the point that things changed.

"A month before we were to get out of school was when things took a turn for the worst…"

_It was a Thursday like any other Thursday… Lincoln came home from school, dropped his bag in his room, grabbed his basketball, kissed Helen on the cheek, and bolted for the courts, saying hi to the people that he knew out doing yard work along the way. Once the boys started playing, they just couldn't seem to stop… It was one game after another, and then always 'just one more game', so one game bled into another. The next thing Lincoln knew, it was late and the court lights were on because it had gotten dark outside. Realizing he had broken the rules, Lincoln quickly grabbed his stuff and scrambled for home. He was so focused on getting home, panicked that Helen would be angry and trying to think of what he'd say in his apology, that he didn't see the man jump out of the van and grab him. Lincoln struggled, but the man was a pretty big guy and had a hand over his mouth muffling the boy's cries for help. A cloth quickly replaced the hand, and then darkness…_

_When Lincoln woke up, it was in the in the back of a van two states over in Mississippi… Lincoln was scared out of his mind thinking whoever kidnapped him was going to kill him. The man revealed to Lincoln that his name was Franklin, and that he and his wife, Cassidy were now his parents. They explained that Lincoln was now their son, and was to act like it, addressing them as mother and father. Lincoln rebelled of course, begging them to let him go back to Helen… To let him go back home, but they refused every time, growing frustrated with his lack of compliance. Eventually the beatings and starvings got to be too much for Lincoln, and he caved… He found that if he called them mother and father, he was fed and given water. If he did whatever they asked and did it right, he wasn't hit. It was a fairly easy thing to decide… Survive or die._

_Lincoln was pretty sure they'd left Helen alone, but he wasn't sure, and he was worried about what she did or thought when he never came home. Did she call the police? Did she think he'd been kidnapped or did she think that he ran away? Was she okay? She was an old woman, and he worried about the stress his disappearance would cause her. They didn't hurt her did they? Did anyone see what had happened? Were people looking for him? Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, weeks to years… No one came looking for him, no one found him, and he continued to live with the Burke's, pretending to be their son._

"How…" Bellamy trailed off, too many questions swirling in his head. He and Lincoln had startlingly similar beginnings… Both their mother's had been taken from them at an early age, and they were both taken in by people who loved them and gave them a real chance at life… For Lincoln it was Helen, for Bellamy it was Marcus. Neither guardian had to do it, but both did anyway. Bellamy's heart went out to the other man for the way he had been given a good life and then had it snatched from him.

At the sound of his voice, Lincoln looked quickly at Bellamy, seemingly startled as if he forgot the other man was there in the room with him. Upon seeing Lincoln's disconcerted face, Bellamy settled on asking, "Why didn't you escape or try to at least? How did you survive and not develop Stockholm syndrome? I mean, from what you're saying, you depended on them for everything… For years."

"They threatened Helen." Lincoln said simply, his gaze leveled with Bellamy's, as if that sentence explained everything, and in a way, it did. "They said if I ran, alerted anyone to them being kidnappers, or so much as made someone _suspect_ the slightest hint that something was wrong, they would kill her. In the beginning, they made it extremely clear they could get to her at any point in time… They knew her address, they knew her routine, they even had a small picture of us together in a frame that used to sit on the wall in the hallway of Helen's house. They had been in her house… That freaked me out more than anything. I had no doubt in my mind they had killed before. I could just _feel_ it. I was in no way about to take the chance and call their bluff, and then have it turn out that they weren't bluffing, and Helen got hurt or worse, killed. She was the only person who had really taken a chance on me… She had taken me in, given me a good home, food to eat, had given me love, affection, reassurance, and treated me like a person when everyone else looked down on me and treated me like a street rat because I was an orphan. I couldn't take the risk that they'd hurt her because of me when she had been so good to me, so I did exactly as they said, never giving them a reason to do as they'd threatened. I was protecting her the only way I knew how at the time. As for the Stockholm thing… I don't know. I never pitied them, never wanted to protect them… They never gave me any of their backstory, or an explanation as to why they kidnapped me when I was with them. I hated them with every fiber of my being. They took me away from the one good thing I had going for me, a stable home life. They had taken me from the good life I had prayed so hard and long for after I had only just gotten exactly what I wanted. Then they had not only taken me from the only person in the whole wide world who gave a damn about me, but threatened her as well. I was pissed from the moment I woke up in that van to the moment I was found…"

_Lincoln was their captive for two years, four months, and two weeks, before they tried dragging Clarke into their sick fantasy. During that time, as long as Lincoln was acting, things were normal. He attended school under whatever false name the Burke's had set for them, as their 'adopted' son. He did chores. He did homework, and excelled in school, hating when it ended because that meant he had to go back to the house. They would buy him extra things if they could, like drawing supplies, and made sure he had the things he needed. Frank and Cassy, as they referred to each other, would call him son as often as they could, and while he hated it, he let them do it, not wanting to incite their ire. There were rare occasions where Frank would drink to the point of being heavily drunk, and then slap Lincoln around a bit… Cassidy too if she said anything or got in the way. Lincoln made sure to make himself as scarce as possible when it looked to be one of those nights. Sometimes he would escape it, others, not so much._

_Some days the anger Lincoln felt toward them both would war with fear, because trying to escape them was always in the back of his mind, and he was terrified for Helen's life and his own… The fear always won out, and he stayed. Other days the anger would war with complete despair… Lincoln had no one, and was constantly living in this state of limbo, never knowing what was going to happen, just rolling with the punches… Sometimes, literally. He had no friends, for fear of them becoming more leverage on him, like Helen had been. Lincoln was also worried that Frank would become suspicious and think that he told the friend what was going on, and then hurt him or the unlucky person that got close to him. It hurt every time he had to shrug someone off or ignore someone who was nice to him, but he consoled himself with the thought that it was best for everyone involved._

_At the beginning of the summer, the year Lincoln was 15, they all moved to Washington state. Almost right after they had settled, Cassidy up and left for the rest of the summer. Frank and Cassidy kept in contact, so Lincoln knew they hadn't split or anything, but he didn't really care, seeing as how he was too preoccupied with a summer landscaping job he'd been able to get. Lincoln had been hoping to save up the money he earned, so he lied and said it was community service he was doing so the Burke's didn't know Lincoln was being paid for it and couldn't take the money he kept stashed under his mattress. Lincoln made an effort to keep his head down and out of their business so they wouldn't suspect him of doing anything but what he said he was doing._

_Cassidy called Frank in early September and he disappeared for about two days before they both showed up with Clarke in tow. They'd never left Lincoln alone before, and Frank was sure to remind him before he left what would happen if he pulled a runner. Lincoln had been back in school for about a week when Frank disappeared too, so he took care of himself, went about everything like normal, and then one day he came back to the house from school to find them rushing around, packing everything up saying they had to leave, and a petrified 12-year-old Clarke._

_The first time Lincoln ever laid eyes on Clarke, all he could think of was how small and frightened she looked curled up into a ball sitting on the couch. She was so quiet, even with tears streaming down her face, and watchful of her surroundings, cowering away if Frank or Cassidy got too close in their rush to pack things. She had a pretty bad bruise on the side of her face… Like the man had struck her. Upon seeing the mark marring her perfect little face, the rage Lincoln felt towards the man for laying his hands on her, was almost overpowering, stronger than anything he'd ever felt before… Lincoln only found out later that it was Cassidy, not Frank, who had hit the little girl, simply because Clarke had been crying, wanting to go home. Lincoln made himself a promise, the very moment her scared blue eyes met his, that he'd protect her as much as he could, for as long as he could, even if he had to die to do it. Lincoln had never felt such immediate overwhelming protective instincts in all his life. He was her guardian, her protector, her brother, from that moment on. It was so instantaneous for him, like flipping a light switch. She was so fearful and innocent… She didn't deserve any of what was about to happen to her. The four of them left the house in Washington, and started moving. Lincoln didn't know it at the time, but they wouldn't really stop moving for another two months until they were found._

_In the beginning, while Lincoln knew he would never hurt Clarke, and wanted nothing more than to protect her, she didn't know that. The little girl was so wary and skittish. She wouldn't talk or even look directly at anyone… Including Lincoln. It made Cassidy extremely mad, because Clarke wouldn't answer questions or react to anything anyone would say to her except to flinch away. Lincoln understood though that Clarke was terrified and didn't know who to trust or what was going to happen… That understanding helped him get through to her, because he knew not to push her. Clarke being scared of him didn't change anything or deter him from his self-imposed protection mission… Lincoln just knew he had to work harder to gain her trust and prove himself._

_Several days after they first left Washington, Cassidy finally had enough, and shoved Clarke into the small closet of the motel room they all were staying in as punishment for her silence. The Burke's hadn't fed her or given her any water that day either. Ironically, the couple were both heavy sleepers, so once they were both asleep, Lincoln was able to sneak her some food, water, and a blanket that he had previously hidden. It got really cold at night, and Lincoln worried so much about the little girl getting sick, especially with the lack of proper nutrition. It wasn't like they would have taken her to the doctor if she had gotten sick._

_Clarke was really hesitant at first to take any of what Lincoln was offering her, but she finally broke down and accepted it, her need to survive outweighing her emotions and fear about the situation. They didn't really get a chance to talk that night, what with the couple sleeping only feet from them. After she ate and drank, the little girl was so exhausted that she didn't care that she fell asleep on Lincoln's shoulder. He let her stay there until the next morning, shortly before the sun came up, when he snuck back to his makeshift bed on the floor, in the hopes that it would seem like he had slept there the whole night._

_After that night, Clarke and Lincoln got closer… She opened up to him, trusted him. Lincoln learned that the Burke's had threatened her with her parents lives much like they had threatened Lincoln with Helen's. Sometimes they would stay at these rundown motels when they were just passing through a town or city, but when Frank found a place for them to settle for a while, he would have them squat in either a foreclosed house, or a house vacant and put up for sale, on the farthest edges of a city or town. It was pretty much whatever still had water and power connected with no nosey neighbors._

_Every time they moved, Clarke got more and more hopeless that her dad would find her. Lincoln didn't know about her father's 'other' business at that point, but he couldn't help but believe her when she said that he was coming for her. Lincoln started thinking and brainstorming ways to leave clues, but it was Clarke who came up with the idea to leave drawings as clues, and it worked… It gave her and Lincoln more hope for a time, that her dad would be able to find her. It was Lincoln's job to get the location of their next destination so she could draw it. While Lincoln didn't know for sure that it would work, that her dad would be able to find and solve the clues they were leaving, he knew they had to try something and if it got Clarke to smile and express herself even a little, it was worth it._

_Clarke and Lincoln talked about everything they could think of and got to know each other as best as the situation allowed for during their time in captivity. In the few moments that they were alone, she told him about her mom and her dad. She told him about how she and her mom used to go shopping on Saturday's after they went out for lunch, and how sometimes her mom, Abby, would take them to a paint studio she rented for a couple of hours and let Clarke paint to her heart's desire. Clarke told Lincoln about how she and her father, Jake, loved to cook together, and how they absolutely loved horror movies. Pretty much any and all gory, scary, bloody, weird movies out there, they were all over it. It was their thing. It had started somehow when she was younger, and became something like a tradition for them. Abby never approved of Clarke watching those types of movies, afraid it would give Clarke nightmares, even though she claimed it never did. So to keep Abby happy and oblivious, Jake and Clarke were only allowed to have their movie nights on the nights she was working a late shift, sometimes staying up all night if it was a Friday, watching movies and going to sleep right before Abby got home. On Sundays after church they would go and do something as a family whether it was going to a park or the zoo, or even just going out to eat at a restaurant. Clarke was sad because before she had been kidnapped, she and her dad hadn't spent any time cooking or even had a movie night in a really long time… Spending time with her mom or even all three of them together as a family had been had been even longer. She told Lincoln how being an only child was lonely sometimes, and she wished she had a sister to play with or a brother to annoy. She told him all about her love of art, and that's really when they started to bond. They connected through their art. Eventually, Lincoln told her about Helen and growing up in the system… She responded by telling him she was never letting him go, and how because they had each other, they never had to be alone ever again. She told him that they were now each other's people, and Lincoln was more than okay with that._

_When they were in the presence of the couple, Clarke and Lincoln kept things simple like favorite colors, or food, or day of the week… Anything and everything that would be considered meaningless, that didn't necessarily involve their time before the Burke's, they talked about it. Lincoln didn't want to give the couple more information about the real them or make the couple mad if they said something the man or woman didn't approve of. Lincoln told her that his birthday was Christmas Eve, and she in turn told him about how her birthday was November 26th, and how some years it fell on Thanksgiving, but not on others. It was only when it was just the two of them, that they opened up about deeper things like her parents, Helen, school, their drawing, or any stories they had about their lives before they fell into the Burke's clutches. Sometimes when they were in the car, and they weren't talking or sleeping, Lincoln would pull a piece of paper out, and they'd take turns passing it back and forth adding things to create a picture that told a story. Sometimes, they'd just draw whatever came to mind, adding things or moving things to make it look better. One time, he had her draw a picture of what her perfect day would look like, and swore to himself that once he got her out of the mess they were in, he'd make sure she got her perfect day._

_The first month was a breeze compared to the second month. Not only was it getting colder, but the frequency of their moving still didn't change, if anything the frequency increased. Sometimes they would barely have time to draw where they were going next before they were on the move again. One night, Lincoln heard the man and the woman arguing. They'd had Clarke for about three weeks or so at the time, and they were arguing about a close call they'd just had, and how he just kept getting close to them… They had no idea how he kept finding them because the locations they chose were completely random. That's when Lincoln knew the trail of breadcrumbs they were leaving was working, and that Jake was following it right to them… The thing was, the closer Jake got, the more cornered the Burke's felt, and the more they lashed out at Clarke and Lincoln._

_The last month with them was worse than all the years combined Lincoln had spent with them by himself. Frank started drinking heavily, every night just about… It was the liquor that brought his truly abusive side out. Very rarely would he just pass out… A majority of the time he was a living nightmare for Lincoln and Clarke. He'd go after Lincoln and beat him or he'd go after Clarke. When he would go after Clarke to hit her, Lincoln made sure to jump in before the big man could actually lay a hand on her. A couple of times when Lincoln did that though, Frank beat him so bad he would black out… When he woke up, Clarke had fresh bruises, cuts, and burns on her from where Frank had gotten a hold of her during the time that Lincoln had been unconscious. Cassidy never stepped in to help or save either of them from Frank's drunken wrath, too afraid she would end up on the receiving end of it._

The pain and loathing in Lincoln's voice as he regaled the last part, combined with his words made Bellamy wince… He could feel that the bigger man blamed himself, and had taken on that guilt.

"You know it wasn't your fault right? You couldn't have helped her seeing as how you were completely out of it…" Bellamy said quietly, breaking the silence that had descended upon the room as Lincoln took a moment to compose himself. It was obvious all this was a difficult subject to discuss for Lincoln, and it very well should be after all he endured. He wanted to let the other man know that what happened, Clarke getting hurt, really wasn't his fault… How could it be?

Lincoln scoffed. "Oh, so you can say that wasn't my fault, but then turn around and say her having an anxiety attack was yours, even though you had no idea she suffered from them much less what the triggers were… Hypocritical much?" Lincoln asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bellamy rolled his eyes, looking away. "That's different." He said heated.

"Oh God…" Lincoln groaned, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "You're such a stubborn ass, you know that? I can see now how perfect you and my sister are for one another…" Bellamy guessed he meant to mutter that last sentence quietly to himself, but Bellamy heard it loud and clear, not being able to help his reaction.

Bellamy flinched and said, "Were… How perfect we were for one another. She's engaged now to Finn." He swallowed thickly, avoiding Lincoln's probing gaze.

"Yeah…" He uttered softly, barely audible, before clearing his throat and continuing on, bringing them back to the subject at hand, something Bellamy was immensely grateful for. "Point is… You blame yourself for shit that others, meaning me, point out you shouldn't. You'll have to excuse me as I do the same."

Bellamy too cleared his throat before speaking, hoping to dislodge the emotions that got caught there. "Yesterday at the meeting, she made a reference to the man being a pedophile. What did that mean? I don't remember Jake saying anything about that."

Lincoln sighed heavily, as though the retelling of this story was sucking the air right from his lungs. Bellamy couldn't imagine how hard and exhausting it must be for the other man to have to essentially relive the whole nightmare, just for Bellamy to get the full story, but he was immensely grateful, for it was something he felt he desperately needed to know. He was getting answers to questions that he'd had for years… He was getting a glimpse into the very moments that had defined his princess's whole future, that has essentially turned the tide and made her who she was today.

"There were two occasions that were… Very close calls…" Lincoln choked out, not having any better words to describe the horrors that he had witnessed.

_One night about a month and a half into their time with the Burke's, Lincoln woke to Clarke screaming. He quickly ran into her bedroom to find Frank on top of her, holding her down with his hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her screams. Lincoln wrestled him off of her and hit him a couple of times, but he was much smaller than Frank and the altercation quickly turned into Frank knocking Lincoln around before stumbling out to the couch where he passed out in a drunken stupor…_

_After that, Lincoln didn't take any chances and took to sleeping in the same room Clarke did for fear that Frank would try to come after her again and that this time Lincoln wouldn't be able to hear her or get to her in time before Frank did some real damage. Clarke didn't go to sleep unless Lincoln was in the room with her, not feeling safe enough on her own and knowing that with Lincoln, she was as safe as possible. Lincoln didn't go to sleep until he knew the man was out for the night, trying to take as many precautions to ensure nothing else happened to Clarke like what had almost occurred. Often Lincoln would wake up to find Clarke snuggled into his side, her having moved there sometime in the night._

_The second close call was only a week after that incident. Lincoln woke up in the middle of the night to Clarke snuggled into his side, like usual, and the man hovering over her… All the nights of getting little sleep due to going to sleep late and getting up early had led to Lincoln being so exhausted that he fell asleep waiting for Frank to go to the bedroom he shared with the woman. Frank didn't actually get to touch her as Lincoln woke up just in time. Frank was kneeling on the ground reaching for her when Lincoln threw a fist with his free hand, the one that wasn't wrapped around Clarke protectively, knocking the big man out cold with the force of the swing… The alcohol probably helped too. Clarke was asleep the whole time as far as Lincoln could tell… She didn't stir once during the whole shuffle, which was strange for her, seeing as how she had become a pretty light sleeper since being captured by the Burke's. Lincoln tucked Clarke back in and dragged Frank out of the room to the kitchen of the vacant house they were staying at, and dropped him on the floor near the counter… Frank woke up the next morning, no memory of the night before, and figured he knocked himself out on the counter of the kitchen on his way to his bedroom. Lincoln never said anything…_

_Frank was a menace for Lincoln mostly, but, Cassidy was nothing short of the boogie man for Clarke. Cassidy wasn't so much physically abusive as she was mentally abusive… There were some moments where she'd slap or hit Clarke when Lincoln couldn't get to her and protect her, but most of the time he could intercept the hits, taking them for her or turning the attention from Clarke onto himself. He'd do stupid stuff like dropping something or throw something… Something that would make noise. He tripped a couple of times, making a show of falling, and then Cassidy would turn and berate him, telling him to be more careful, while Clarke slipped away. The majority of her abuse was verbal and psychological, but she was nowhere near as verbally abusive toward Lincoln as she was toward Clarke, not in all the years he was with them both did Lincoln get the treatment Cassidy gave Clarke. The woman would constantly put the little girl down, correct, and chastise her for the littlest things, like the way she held her fork or the way she folded her blankets. Anything and everything that she could demean Clarke for, she would. When Clarke did something right, she'd tell her it was 'acceptable' in a haughty voice, and even then she would still find something wrong with the girl. Cassidy would regularly point out what she saw as Clarke's flaws, mistakes, and shortcomings… She was too short, the color of her hair was ugly, she was fat… Every horrible thing you can say to a person; Lincoln was sure Cassidy said it to Clarke. The woman told Clarke that her hair was too long, and the next day, when Frank dragged Lincoln out of the house to go to the store with him, Lincoln came back to find that Cassidy had cut Clarke's hair to a point a little above her shoulders while he'd been gone. Clarke had been distraught because she had always loved her hair long… Her dad would run his fingers through it when they snuggled watching movies and her mom loved to style it in the mornings before school or before they went out. The worst thing though was the day Lincoln walked in on Cassidy explaining to Clarke how Clarke's name, Charlotte, was the worst name for her, because it was a pretty name for good beautiful little girls, not naughty, hideous, unlovable little girls. Cassidy would often say everything- them constantly moving, Frank's drinking, the beatings they all got- was Clarke's fault. The woman would threaten the little girl numerous times to spank her with an old wooden hair brush, or she'd threaten to withhold food and water… Often, she would try to withhold food and water, but Lincoln was always in the wing waiting to give the little girl whatever he could sneak and hide away for her. He'd often stash granola bars and bags of chips and water bottles in the bottom of his bag to have on hand when Cassidy would shove Clarke in a closet for being 'bad'. The vile woman made sure it was common knowledge that it would be nothing for her and Frank to go back and kill Clarke's mom and dad… She promised she'd make the little girl watch. Lincoln knew that was a full out lie… He knew that the couple was terrified of Jake just by the way they were running. Honestly, they had no idea who they fucked with._

_Lincoln tried so hard to combat what Cassidy was saying to Clarke… He told Clarke all the time that she did deserve her name, her hair was beautiful, color and all, no matter what. He made sure she knew that she was a good little girl, and that none of what was happening was her fault, and that she wasn't fat in the slightest. If anything, she was too light and thin, like if a strong enough gust came along, it would carry her away with the wind. If she was put in the closet at night, Lincoln was right there beside her with a blanket and sustenance after the couple had fallen asleep… Clarke hated the dark, and Cassidy knew it, and that's why she'd often shove her in any dark space she could. Lincoln would find her no matter what and just hold her all night letting her sleep in his arms, trying to keep her warm and make her feel safe so she didn't have nightmares. Lincoln swore to the little girl that he wouldn't let anything happen to her parents, and that her dad was still coming for her. He would repeat everything to her so many times it was like playing a record over and over again. Still, no matter how many times he said it, she didn't seem to believe him… Lincoln chalked it up to it always being easiest to believe the untrue, mean things strangers say about you rather than the good honest things coming from someone you trust. Sometimes he'd hold her and just whisper all the good positive things he could think of… Things that he loved about her, or what he thought made her such a special person, and she'd either cry into his neck or shoulder silently, or she'd stare off blankly into space._

"Our nicknames for each other came out of this actually…" Lincoln spoke up. "Clarke didn't want to be called Charlotte anymore, and neither of us thought to use her middle name at the time. She told me one time that her favorite insect was the ladybug, and I remember thinking at the time that it was just so fitting… She was small, sweet, colorful, innocent, and she made me feel happy and blessed just to know her. I just started calling her Bug, and it stuck. She absolutely loved it… Of course the minute I gave her a nickname, she had to have one for me. I came up with the silliest names that I could think of, trying to take her mind off everything, and it worked. She was back to being the giggling little girl I'd only had brief glimpses of thus far. I suggested Bear thinking of the large scary animal, and she loved that, saying she liked it because I reminded her of a teddy bear, and I gave the best bear hugs. Years later when I bulked up, she said I really was like the big scary animal, at least in size, but I'd always be her teddy bear. She's the only one that's ever been allowed to call me that or give me a nickname. I mean, I'm cool with people I know shortening my name to just Linc, but nothing else. Even then, I've got to know someone really well before I let them shorten my name."

Bellamy chuckled, thinking back to Clarke. "I know what you mean man. Clarke started shortening my name to just Bell a couple of weeks after we met. I don't even think she realized she was doing it. Shocked the hell out of me of course… No one had ever shortened my name and gotten away with it anyway. Not my dad, grandmother, guys, or my mother when she was alive. But, it was Clarke… She's the only who can call me that."

A small smile played around Lincoln's mouth at hearing that. "Sounds like her." He said before the smile was erase, the topic they were just discussing coming back to mind. Lincoln stood carefully, and stretched, wincing at the pain surely coming from his ribs. Bellamy too stood, deciding some fresh air would help them both as he had a feeling the part of the story with the Burke's was winding down, and from the little Bellamy had heard from Jake, none of it was going to be very pretty. As he stood to his full height, Bellamy's back and shoulder popped painfully being stretched after having been sitting still in the same position for a good few hours.

"Come on." Bellamy said grabbing his empty water bottle and heading for the kitchen. He threw the bottle in the recycle bin, and grabbed two beers from the fridge, tossing one to Lincoln, who caught it easily with the arm on his uninjured side. Bellamy jerked his head in a 'follow me' motion, heading for his bedroom. He didn't care if Lincoln saw his bedroom, the location he was headed for was his balcony… None of the other balconies had furniture, and he wanted to be in a comfortable environment for everything else that he was sure was coming.

Once out the door, Bellamy dropped into his normal chair, and kicked a chair out from under the table opposite of him, signaling for Lincoln to sit in it.

"You like living here?" Lincoln asked as he took a seat, setting his bottle on the table like Bellamy had done.

Bellamy shrugged noncommittally. "It's a place to live. Close to work. Great view. It's got good security. I like the spaciousness of it. I'm not particularly attached to it or anything, but it does what I need it to. I'll probably be here 'til I leave the city." Bellamy said cryptically, his thoughts racing to the future for a moment before snapping him back to the present. Thankfully, Lincoln didn't notice his slight fumble.

Lincoln nodded. "I'm thinking about buying the apartment three floors below yours. In fact, that's what I was doing here this morning. I was meeting with the realtor… Did you know you're a selling point for the apartment? The realtor seemed to think anyone would love living 'just three floors below the CEO of Blake Global Enterprises'." Lincoln said making a face, while Bellamy groaned miserably… His information being given out and used like that could create some serious security issues later on. It wasn't like the press didn't already know where he lived, but to use it as a way to attract buyers for apartments in the same building he lived in? He did not like that at all… Maybe it was time to buy the whole damn building, and just be done with it. Then he would have a say who could rent or buy the apartments, he could have complete control of the building security, and the staff… Meaning the front desk gold-digger was gone. Bellamy made a mental note to look into all of that later, as Lincoln continued on. "I liked the apartment though… And not just because you live here." Lincoln said ruefully, giving Bellamy an amused side glance. "It's certainly nicer than some of the other places I looked at, and it's close to the art gallery I just bought. Clarke's about 10 to 20 minutes away, and the park is only a few blocks from here."

"There's a gym and a pool in the building too." Bellamy added helpfully. "You've got to pay an arm and a leg for a garage spot, or in my case _spots_ , but it's monitored by security, so it's worth it to me to make sure no one messes with my cars. The only thing I'd caution you on is the reception girl. The guy who works night shifts is cool, the day chick on the other hand salivates over anything with a dick, so be leery of her. You can bet your ass she'll try and get her claws in you alright." Lincoln grimaced. "Unless you've already had a run in?" Bellamy guessed, and slow small smile spreading across his face.

"Uh… Yeah. If I buy the place, I'll definitely be avoiding the lobby at all costs. That's why I was in the garage earlier… Figured I could check it out and escape too, but then I saw you and figured we could take this opportunity to talk now, seeing as how I'm leaving tomorrow. You should have seen it though, she was all over me man. I hadn't even gotten in the front door with the realtor and she was all in my business. I literally had to shake her off just to get in the elevator. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard." He said with a scowl. Bellamy couldn't help but chuckle heartily at the other man's plight, knowing how many times he himself had been in Lincoln's shoes.

"Damn... That's funny." Bellamy said still chuckling. "I can't ever seem to get her name right… Not that it matters necessarily. It just shows how little I care." Bellamy said shrugging.

Lincoln scrunched his eyebrows together. "Shit, I can't remember her name either. It ended with -any." He paused, then his face relaxed, saying "Oh well… If I never meet her again, I'll be pretty happy with that."

They were silent for a bit after that, occasionally taking a sip from their drinks. It was getting to be later in the afternoon, and Bellamy knew Lincoln would probably need to leave soon, but before he did, they needed to finish talking…

"So what happened that caused Jake to find you the way he did? If I'm recalling right, you both were found in a basement pretty banged up to put it lightly… You were pretty much knocking on death's door." Bellamy said thinking of what both Jake and Clarke had told him about Lincoln…

"Yeah, I was." Lincoln said looking down with a grimace.

_Lincoln and Clarke were still leaving clues for Jake to find. Just before they packed up again for what would unknowingly be the final time, Lincoln learned that they were to be going to Beverly Hills. It was strange of course, for the couple to want to go somewhere so populated and rich when they both usually stuck to small places that were mostly isolated and where they would blend in, but Lincoln and Clarke drew a picture none the less. When Frank started driving south and toward the east heading for Texas, instead of straight west for California, Lincoln knew he screwed up… Bad. He learned Beverly Hills was also the name of a town in Texas, and that's there they were headed. Lincoln felt horrible, like he had failed not just Clarke, but Clarke's dad too. He knew Jake had been following them… That much was apparent by how spooked the Burke's were, and Lincoln had just sent the only man really searching for them in the wrong direction. Lincoln didn't say anything to Clarke, but instead came up with a way to fix his mistake… Or at least, he hoped his mistake would be fixed._

_They had driven all night and all day, Frank and Cassidy taking turns driving and sleeping so they didn't have to stop at a hotel. It was about an hour or so after sunset when Cassidy pulled over at a gas station outside Waco. Lincoln knew they were getting close to Beverly Hills because he had snuck a peek at the map, and knew he had to get going on his plan for it to work in time, so he volunteered to pump the gas. Lincoln also said he needed to grab a sweater out of the trunk of the car because of how cold it had gotten. Cassidy nodded and said it was okay before going into the store to grab cigarettes and a few other food items. Clarke had just fallen asleep, and Frank had been sleeping in the front passenger seat for about two hours, so Lincoln felt it would be okay to leave her in the car while he worked on his plan to get them noticed… He would still be able see her and keep an eye on her the whole time, to make sure she was safe. When Cassidy went into the store, Lincoln quickly unscrewed the bulbs of the tail lights, to the point where they wouldn't light up, and finished pumping the gas… The guy he had worked with over the summer taught him a couple of things about cars, and one of those things had been how to change out head and tail lights on a vehicle, so Lincoln improvised and used that knowledge. He was in the car waiting innocently for Cassidy when she came back out. It took hardly anytime at all before she was stopped by a highway patrolman, just inside the city limits of Waco. The officer told her because both tail lights were out, instead of just one, he had to ticket her. They were courteous and cool until the officer left, and then things blew up. Frank was pissed because he thought his wife had done something to the car to cause both of the bulbs to blow, and the reality of how wrong things could have gone got to him… After all, he just had two kidnapped children three feet away from a law enforcement officer. All it would have taken is for the officer to get even a little suspicious and then things would've been over. Cassidy got a nasty bruise across her face and Lincoln and Clarke got a pats on the shoulders for both being 'good children'._

Lincoln stopped talking for a minute, seemingly having trouble swallowing. When he did speak again, his voice was strained.

"You have no idea how hard it was to sit in the back of that car and watch as that highway patrolman strolled back to his car, got in, and left… I had to literally watch my chance at freedom for Clarke and I, just walk away. The only way I allowed myself to be comforted was with the thought that it was merely a _chance_ at freedom, not a guarantee… Too many things could have gone wrong had I spoken up and said anything to the officer. I mean the couple had plenty of fake documentation for both of us that looked very official, hell, they had my school records for the past two years. Would an officer believe me and Clarke over two adults? Then there was the fact that it was one officer versus the couple… If the cop had believed us, the couple could have shot the cop and run with us or just run. The outcome would have always been the same in all situations… The man and woman so overwhelmingly enraged with the both of us, they surely would have killed us both. There were too many variables in the situation for me to take any chances, especially with Clarke's life in the balance, so I kept quiet." The agony in Lincoln's voice revealed to Bellamy how much the other man had wrestled with the decision at the time- whether to bide his time and hope for a small chance, or give in to the small taste of possible freedom the officer's presence offered. The thing was, Bellamy would have made the same decision had he been in Lincoln's shoes. He had summed up the situation perfectly… Too many variables and moving parts, most of them unknown, to guarantee that Clarke and Lincoln both would have, for sure, escaped with their lives.

"The other thing that helped me to get through that was the promise I made to myself that if Clarke's mysterious father didn't show up after the huge red flag I'd just risked a hell of a lot to raise, then I was taking her and running before they moved us again. They trusted me, to an extent, with certain things like knowing where we were going next, but they trusted the fear they'd instilled in me more than anything, and ultimately, that led to their downfall. I think they thought that because I'd been with them for so long, I had developed a sense of loyalty to them or some twisted shit like that, that forbid me from betraying them, but like I said before, I was just angry as fuck at them both for what they'd done to me and to Clarke and I just wanted to get us away from them. Had it been two months previously and no Clarke in the picture, I probably _would_ have been too fearful of their threats and still living in that cycle of anger and despair, but as it was, I did have Clarke, and she was worth everything to me. The Burke's underestimated the lengths that I would go for her… As much as I loved Helen, I couldn't risk Clarke, even for her. Clarke had given me purpose and life again, in a way I'd never had before. She was my hope and happiness when I hadn't had any in years. I was fully ready to risk the couple going after Helen and Clarke's parents, hurting them, possibly killing them, as long as Clarke was safe, as far away from them both as I could get her. Thankfully Jake did show up, and I never had to fulfill that promise…"

_After the close call with the highway patrolman, Frank took over driving, taking them all to an old abandoned house in the woods on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, Texas, about 30 minutes away from Waco… They'd driven through the town, so Frank could find a place to come back and get a drink after he dropped his wife and the children off at the place they would be staying. Once he identified where he was going to be coming back to later, he took them to the creepy house. Lincoln thought it was the type of house nightmares were made of… The place was run down and over taken with vegetation. The whole house creaked, squeaked, and groaned every time the wind blew because the walls and doors were nothing but old dry wood and the roof consisted of nothing but some loose rusty tin slates. The windows were so dirty; Lincoln couldn't see inside at all. Just looking at it sent chills down his spine. Inside, it had two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen connected to each other, and a basement under the kitchen._

_There was very limited furniture in the house, but the worst part was the taxidermy animals everywhere… Deer heads and antlers all along the walls, animal pelts with heads still attached on the bed, couch, and floors acting as blankets or rugs, and fully stuffed raccoons, bobcats, and foxes in all the corners. It was like no matter where he went or looked, they were all watching him… They really got to Clarke, absolutely terrified her, and Lincoln didn't blame her, because it was a pretty scary sight. As soon as Lincoln realized how scared Clarke was of their surroundings, he tucked her into the room they would be sharing under the guise of making up their sleeping spots with the blankets they had. He just didn't want her to have to see more than she had to of that awful house, if it could even be call that… It was more like a rustic hunting cabin out of a horror movie. Lincoln made sure to take all the animals that were in their room, and stuff them in the small closet. He told her to stay in the room and not come out, for any reason, before going outside to help Frank and Cassidy unpack the few things they would be using while they stayed there._

_As he was grabbing things out of the car, Lincoln overheard them talking about leaving in two days for a small border town… Frank was adamant that Jake wouldn't follow them there, and that he thought they had already lost him back in Utah, which was where they had just traveled from. Cassidy was fine with going to the border town, even going as far as to suggest that leaving the states all together and living in Mexico or Central America somewhere, would ensure no one would follow them and find them. Lincoln kept his head down, continuing on with what he was doing as to not draw attention to himself, but on the inside, he was panicking… Mexico? Lincoln was terrified they would never be found if they crossed the border, and Clarke couldn't stay with them anymore. Lincoln didn't care about what happened to himself so much as he was worried about what being with the Burke's everyday was doing to Clarke… He was having more and more trouble getting her to give him even a small smile, and getting her to actually speak to him instead of just clinging to him was like pulling teeth._

_Clarke wasn't talking like she was going to be rescued or that her dad was coming for her anymore, no matter how much Lincoln insisted that her dad was coming and that she couldn't give up hope… Not yet. She had withdrawn into herself so much, Lincoln felt like she was slipping right out of his grasp, and he had no idea what to do to get her to come back or to help her. Well, with all of this in mind, Lincoln's silent promise, the Burke's plan, Clarke's slow deterioration and withdraw into herself, everything came down to when Clarke and Lincoln would be leaving… He had to make sure to give Jake enough time to get to them if he was still actually coming and gather supplies for their escape, but at the same time, he also had to be sure to leave enough time for them to actually be able to leave. After hearing they had two days, Lincoln decided that if Jake hadn't shown up, then they'd be leaving the following night after the couple had gone to sleep, and make for Florida._

_After everything was unpacked, Frank hopped in the car and left to go back into town for that drink he so desperately wanted. Lincoln disappeared into the room with Clarke while Cassidy puttered around in the kitchen. Lincoln knew Clarke was expecting him to say something, but he had no idea what or how much to tell Clarke of what he knew and planned, without her freaking out and worrying about it all… He was doing enough of that for the both of them, and didn't need to add calming Clarke down to the list of things he needed to do, so he told her what he knew the Burke's had planned for the immediate future. He told her what he'd heard about leaving in two days for the border town, and so they started drawing on the back of the closet door with the small bit of chalk Lincoln had… It was mostly Lincoln doing the drawing with Clarke just watching quietly. It wasn't hard to see how much the idea of moving again, submerged the little girl into a state of despondency… Lincoln just comforted her as much as he could, reassuring her that she was going to be fine, that he'd protect her, and that he'd never leave her. She didn't really respond to anything he said, except to just pull closer and tuck her head into the crook of his neck. Clarke was practically asleep curled up into a ball on his lap, when Frank came back two hours later._

_Frank came slamming through the front door, making the whole house shake with the force he'd used throwing the door open. He quickly told Cassidy to start packing and to be ready to go in ten minutes, before heading to the room where he would find the children… They had to get out of there as soon as possible. When Lincoln heard the ruckus of Frank coming in, he thought perhaps that night was going to be another night where he got another drunken beating, but quickly realized it was something else when loud footsteps came towards their room quickly, in a determined rhythmic pattern instead of the stumbling or shuffling that usually accompanied his drunken self. Clarke jerked awake when the front door opened, and they both scrambled to cover the drawing and erase the signs of what they'd been doing, but, they were too late… Frank walked in expecting to see Clarke and Lincoln sleeping, but instead found them scrambling to cover up a drawing on the door… Lincoln could read every emotion that crossed Frank's face… Confusion, suspicion, understanding, shock, and then lastly, absolute fury. It was as though Lincoln could see Frank put it all together- how and why Jake kept finding them so quickly and coming after them._

_Frank's fists were shaking with rage as he stepped toward Lincoln and Clarke threateningly. Lincoln quickly pushed Clarke behind him, worried Frank would lash out at her and hit her or grab her and hurt her in some way… Frank was yelling and screaming incoherently at them in his fit of fury, as Clarke was crying softly behind him, shaking in fear. Lincoln had no idea what was coming, but tried to remain calm and think, but the next thing he knew, Frank grabbed him and started dragging him out of the room into the living room… Lincoln fought against him hard as they neared the kitchen, telling Clarke to run, but Cassidy was too quick, and grabbed the little girl before she could fully get out the open door. While Cassidy didn't know what was going on, she knew to follow her husband's lead._

_Lincoln hadn't known about the basement 'til Frank kicked the table aside and pulled the door in the floor open. He started dragging Lincoln down the stairs, throwing him to the bottom half way down, and turned, going back up to take Clarke away from Cassidy, who was struggling to hold the writhing little girl. Lincoln twisted his ankle trying to catch himself at the bottom of the stairs, but the pain didn't faze him as he stood up and looked around at the new surroundings. The air down in the basement was damp and smelled stale, like someone hadn't been down there in ages. Along the top of one of the walls there were two barred windows that were clean enough to let some moonlight in to make everything semi-visible. Lincoln saw that there were wooden shelves along the walls, lined with glass mason jars filled with unrecognizable dark liquids and sludges. There were tools and boxes stacked or thrown everywhere. Then, something caught the teenager's attention... There was set of about three concrete stairs on the far side of the basement, shrouded mostly in shadows, that lead to two storm cellar doors. They had an old big rusted padlock on them, that could have been easily busted or pried off seeing as how the wood was old, and Lincoln was sure the nails and hinges and such were rusted. He knew he couldn't make a move for the doors until he had Clarke with him and Frank incapacitated or gone._

_Lincoln was still standing at the foot of the steps and was able to catch Clarke when Frank threw her down the stairs like he had Lincoln. Frank came stomping down the steps so hard and loud, Lincoln was sure they'd break under his weight. Unfortunately, they didn't, and he kept advancing 'til Lincoln was literally backed into a wall. Clarke was still in his arms, her face buried in his neck as her whole body trembled in terror. The man was seething mad, telling Lincoln the whole time he advanced on the children how he'd been in the bar when a couple of men had come in waiving pictures around of the four of them asking if anyone had seen any of the people in the pictures and where at. The bartender had been seconds from pointing Frank out, but he was able to sneak off out the back door before that could happen though. Frank said he'd had enough, and that Lincoln and Clarke proved to be more trouble than they were worth, and how having kids just wasn't worth the hassle they caused._

_Frank told them both how he had no choice but to kill them, and leave their bodies rotting in the cellar, never to be found, while he and Cassidy disappeared. Lincoln knew Frank hadn't thought to grab his gun, because it had been tucked into the glove box of the car earlier and the man didn't have it with him then… Lincoln was ready for Frank to leave to go grab it, hopefully giving him the few minutes he needed to break the lock on the cellar doors and for Clarke and himself to escape. But instead of going back up the stairs, Frank turned and grabbed something Lincoln hadn't noticed leaning against the wooden beam at the base of the stairs… A baseball bat. As soon as Frank turned his back to them and Lincoln saw what he was going for, he put Clarke down and quickly told her to run and hide when he moved, and to not come out, no matter what. As soon as Frank turned around and pulled the bat back to swing, Lincoln rushed him, and pushed him as hard as he could… Frank was about twice Lincoln's size, but he was able to succeed in giving Clarke enough time to run and hide behind one of the mountains of boxes._

_Frank hit the back of his head pretty hard on the stone wall… Hard enough to draw blood. He was dazed for a minute, but he shook it off and came back at Lincoln with a vengeance… Lincoln was able to fend off any serious blows to the head with the bat, but he couldn't say the same for the rest of him. With the bat, Frank busted one of the teenager's shoulders up pretty bad, and broke a few ribs on one side, along with all the other deep tissue bruising from where the bat struck him. Lincoln dropped to the ground at some point… One-minute he was standing, holding his arms over his head trying to protect himself as much as possible as Frank hit him over and over again, and the next he crumpled to the floor as the larger man began kicking the boy repeatedly everywhere. First it was his face and abdomen, and when Lincoln tried to turn to crawl along the wall, away from the blows Frank was doling out to him, it turned into his back and sides… The only thing Lincoln could focus on was the excruciating pain and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. It hurt to move. Hell, it hurt to breathe… It felt like there was a weight pressing down on his chest that kept getting heavier and heavier. Trying to get away seemed to piss Frank off further, so Lincoln quit fighting, and just gave up, laying there and letting Frank strike him._

_Lincoln could feel blood coming up his throat…He knew he wasn't going to make it, because he was sure he was bleeding internally. Lincoln figured he was a dead man anyway, and Frank focusing on him meant he wasn't focused on Clarke… Then Lincoln's worst nightmare happened. As if the situation couldn't have gotten any worse, Clarke came out of nowhere and jumped on Frank's back, hitting him and scratching him… She clawed at his face and eyes while he screamed in pain, desperately trying to get her off him._

_Lincoln had to watch from the ground, unable to move, as Frank threw the little girl off his back, straight into the side of the stairs. He had to watch as the large man slapped her around so hard she fell to the ground, only to be pulled back to her feet just by her hair. Finally, just when Lincoln had mustered enough strength to stand, to try to get her away from him, something happened… From the house above them came the bang of the front door hitting the wall as it was flung open, shouting, and the thuds that accompanied several pairs of heavy boots as they moved around the cabin. Frank had only just begun to strangle Clarke, but stopped upon hearing the commotion upstairs, and quickly dropped her. Clarke immediately scrambled away from him and over to Lincoln as he collapsed back against the wall in pain. She started trying to staunch the bleeding on one of the nastier head wounds he had, while coughing and trying to get her breathing under control._

_Frank looked as panicked as Lincoln had ever seen him, frantically searching for another way out of the basement, when his eyes landed on the cellar doors. The man grabbed a crowbar off a pile of tools and ran for the doors, quickly prying them open and escaping, just leaving the two battered children huddled together against the wall. After Frank escaped through the open doors, the yelling which had begun to quiet down, suddenly increased in crescendo, as several of the heavy footsteps stomping around left the house, going outside… Vaguely Lincoln heard the loud bang of a gun going off somewhere. The footsteps that could still be heard inside the house was now accompanied by the scraping of furniture being moved, and glass being broken…_

_Whoever was up there, was looking for something… Lincoln figured it was only a matter of time before the trap door in the kitchen or the cellar doors that opened along the side of the house were found. Lincoln knew he was fading fast… He could feel himself slipping from consciousness as it was and with him having no clue who the people above them were, he told Clarke to leave out the two open cellar doors the man had just exited, and to run and hide in the woods until she was sure whomever was out there was a friend, like the police or her father. The Burke's had made some enemies, Frank especially, and the last thing Lincoln wanted was for Clarke to be taken by them while he was left for dead and wasn't there to take care of her and protect her. God only knows what those type of people would have done with her, but her stubbornness and unwillingness to listen and follow orders reared up, and she adamantly refused to leave Lincoln, no matter what._

_"You promised, Bear!" She cried clutching his hand and trying to stop the bleeding on his head, as his vision slipped in and out of focus. "You promised you wouldn't leave me! Please stay awake! Don't leave me big brother, please!" She sobbed._

_"I… don't think I'm… in any condition to… go anywhere Bug." He wheezed, trying to joke about the dire situation they were in, even as blood dribbled out of his mouth down his chin… He hated when she cried._

_Lincoln passed out right as the door in the kitchen floor above them opened. The last thing he heard was someone shouting something about finding a basement._

Lincoln took a long draw from of his half empty beer bottle.

The sun was beginning to lower in the sky, as Lincoln concluded… The thing was, that was just a chapter in the full story Bellamy wanted to know. Lincoln stopped talking for a moment, giving Bellamy a moment to digest everything he'd just heard, but there was way more to what happened and way more to be told…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I've gone back and edited all the chapters before this one, tweaked a few things, and added chapter titles. In the past I've had some criticism about my story not making sense with the last names of the characters not being Italian, and my story not actually being accurate as far as the mob ways are concerned, so I want to kind of make it clear, the mafia in my story is about crime families and criminal organizations, not specifically Italian, but they have some roots in Italian (obviously), and have kept some of the Italian ways. Other than those things, they are their own entities with their own rules and ways. I can explain away their last names very easily, but I figured people wouldn't want that much dragging detail. I've also changed Dante's name to Cage, as I have plans later on for Dante... Mistake on my part for not thinking that through in the beginning of my story. Sorry. Other than that, I can't think of any other significant changes... Oh, except, there is one next chapter that you'll be reading about soon.
> 
> Now, I'm sure your asking what in the world happened that caused me to disappear. Three things... 1.) When I last posted, I had about 13k words of my next chapter already written... I accidentally saved over it with another document, and everything but 1.5k words I had sent in an email to my sister were salvageable. I was so unbelievably mad at myself, and every time I tried to start writing again, my heartbrokeness at having lost so much work made it really hard to write. I eventually was able to get it done, but it needed a lot of editing and tweaking, and I had to split it up after realizing it was way too long (30k words?). 2.) My grandfather's cancer came back, and he was in and out of the hospital the first month I was home from school (May). He's home now, and resting. 3.) Things with my dad didn't turn out as we had hoped... After a long string of doctors and appointments, he has to have a defibrillator put in, which is happening Tuesday.
> 
> I know you all will understand how stressful these past couple of months have been, and will hopefully forgive my absence. I will certainly try my hardest to never go so long again with out posting... I, however, have a surprise. The Part 2 of this chapter is ready (save for editing), and I will have it posted within 24 hours. Yay right?
> 
> Thank you of course to all my readers and supporters... You guys are amazing, and keep me writing.  
> -Redhead17x (Check me out on Tumblr, under the same name!)


	23. Trials and Tribulations, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Kinda the same from last chapter. Go read that one...  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

**Chapter 23- Trials and Tribulations, Part 2**

The horror Lincoln and Clarke had endured at the hands of these people, completely astounded Bellamy… He understood completely where Lincoln’s overprotectiveness came from now. Bellamy remembered Jake’s words from long ago about how he had searched for two months for his daughter after she was taken from school one day by the nanny… School would have been just starting in early September when she was taken. Bellamy had been back in New York for a few months by then, starting his own school year. _Two months_ , Bellamy mused… If she had been taken in early September, then that means they would have been found sometime in early to mid-November. Bellamy had just started his training by then and was back in school…

Bellamy leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together to hang between his spread knees. He looked down at the concrete floor, as his mind ran through the information again. He slowly shook his head ruefully at the coincidence of it all, and chuckled darkly. Bellamy looked up and over to see Lincoln quirk an eyebrow at him questioningly. “Did you know that…” Bellamy started. “the kidnapping and subsequent finding of both of you all happened in the same year I first killed a man and joined the Collins Family? It happened just months apart.”

Lincoln nodded gravely. “Yes… You and I both joined our respective Families within roughly a year of each other after the people who had severely hurt us were killed. I’m getting that, so sit back and shut up… Let me finish.”

Bellamy raised his hands in a mock show of innocence for the man to continue. “How long were you in the hospital?” Bellamy asked, prompting the other man to continue on where the story picked up.

“About a month. I got out in early December. Let me tell you, it was a little disorienting to wake up in Seattle, Washington, after having lost consciousness somewhere in Texas, and missing about two and a half weeks of my life…”

_For weeks, Lincoln was in the hospital under heavy sedation, recovering from his injuries and surgery. He’d been put in an induced coma to give his body a chance to recover and heal… He didn’t remember a single thing from the moment he passed out in the basement to the moment he woke up in the hospital. During that time though, Clarke was almost constantly with him. For the first week, as it was very touch and go, Clarke was by his bedside, refusing to move or leave, for fear that she’d leave and he wouldn’t be there when she came back… That he’d slip away forever while she was gone. When his odds became more positive, she still refused to leave, wanting to be near him incase anything happened, good or bad. Jake and Abby, who were so relieved to have their daughter back, were curious about the teenager, and fascinated by their daughter’s clear attachment to him. Clarke talked some about what happened, and all about Lincoln. She told her parents about what he had done for her, how much he meant to her, and how scared she was to lose him. She loved him dearly and couldn’t imagine him not being there for her. For now though, it was her turn to be there for him, and take care of him. He had become her rock… Her safe place… Her protective big brother. She wanted to be that for him and be the best little sister in the world._

_After two and a half weeks of having to literally be dragged away from Lincoln’s bedside or snuck away after accidentally falling asleep during her vigil, Jake had to resort to bribing his daughter to leave Lincoln’s bedside for one night, just one night, to sleep in a proper bed and eat a full meal. Clarke was reluctant as the doctors had decided Lincoln was well enough to be brought out of the coma, but Jake brought in one of the many doctors Lincoln had, and made him promise that it was unlikely for the teenager to wake up in the hours that she’d be gone. The doctor explained that it was going to take a long while for Lincoln to be brought out of the induced coma, at least 24 hours due to his extensive injuries, and that the boy probably wouldn’t be awake by the next afternoon, much less the next morning when she arrived back._

_Well, even those promises and estimations didn’t appease the little girl. She turned around and made Jake, and the two private security guards outside the door, swear to stay with Lincoln and call her immediately, just in case he did in fact wake up before scheduled, so she could come back to the hospital right away. She was sure to make it clear that if Lincoln woke up, Jake was to call no matter what, even if she was sleeping and it was the middle of the night. Jake agreed, and Clarke left with Abby and her guards. Jake settled in for a long night and fell asleep slumped in the bedside chair… The problem was, the doctors had already started the process of bringing Lincoln out of the induced coma earlier that morning… The standard wake period for induced coma patients was anywhere between 12-72 hours. Well, Lincoln happened to fall on the lower end of that spectrum… He woke up for the first time in the middle of the night, 16 hours after they had begun bringing him out of the coma._

_When Lincoln woke up, he was pretty groggy at first, not understanding where he was, or what was going on… As his senses started coming back to him, his last memories did too... Clarke, the basement, blood in his mouth, bruises on her neck…_

_Lincoln quickly recognized he was in a hospital, and that was about the only easy part, as everything after that was a complete mess. Lincoln didn't recognize the strange man slumped over in the chair next to the bed, and he didn’t really care that he didn’t recognize him. All Lincoln could focus on was that he didn’t know where Clarke was or if she was okay, he couldn’t breathe, and he hurt all over… All in that order. If he was in the hospital, and she wasn’t there with him, had someone bad taken her before help came for him? The teenager started panicking and trying to dislodge the tube in his throat because it was restricting his air ways and he couldn’t get up with it in... Not really the best idea, but he wasn’t really in his right mind with fear, panic, and the drugs in his system clouding his thoughts. One of the machines he was hooked up to started going crazy beeping, which woke Jake up and quickly got his attention… Jake jumped from the chair and started pushing Lincoln to lie down on the bed, trying to get the younger man to calm down, while restraining his hands so he didn’t rip the breathing tube from his throat and hurt himself. Jake quickly pressed the emergency button by the bed, and before he could blink, the room was flooded with a horde of nurses poking and prodding the teenage like some type of lab animal, and the night-shift doctor. Lincoln panicked more, hating strange people touching him. He still couldn’t breathe, and he still had no clue where Clarke was. He watched as a nurse pushed a shot of something into his IV, before he felt himself slowly succumb to unconsciousness._

_Jake didn’t call the house to wake Clarke up, thinking Lincoln would be asleep by the time she got there anyway. Jake figured Lincoln would probably just be waking up in the morning when Clarke got there, so it would be as if nothing had really happened. How would she find out anyhow?_

_The next time Lincoln woke up, the tube was gone, and there was yelling heard outside the door in the hall, which was what had woken him up. Jake was there again, this time watching the boy come around. He calmly explained to Lincoln who he was, where Lincoln was, that he needed Lincoln to stay completely calm and still, and that Clarke was okay. Lincoln could hardly breathe his throat was so raw, so speaking was completely out of the question, even though he tried. He was able to mouth the words to ask where Bug was. Jake smirked and pointed to the door where the yelling was getting louder and closer. The door was flung open, and there in all her brilliant furious glory was Clarke, completely intact, safe, and bandaged up. Lincoln had never seen her so mad… Her cute little curls were shaking in her fury. Lincoln was honestly so relieved, not just to see her okay, but to see her showing some type of emotion, even anger, and not the emptiness he has witnessed in the days before their rescue. Of course, Lincoln was completely confused as to why she was so utterly pissed, but after seeing that she was okay, he relaxed into the uncomfortable bed and decided to watch the show._

_The little girl came storming into the room, and had some very choice, very loud words for Jake. The two guys outside the door were definitely cowering away from her, having already gotten their asses chewed out by the little spitfire. Jake took it calmly, explaining why he did what he did, but before she could further berate him, Jake distracted her by pointing out Lincoln was awake, and waiting to see her. It was like flipping a switch… Her eyes snapped to Lincoln, and he could just see the anger leave her and the relief take over. She scrambled over to him, climbing on the bed being mindful of the wires and his injuries, and completely against Jake’s protests, taking his hand and promising the everything would be okay now. She told him how worried and scared she had been that he would never wake up, and while he wasn’t exactly up for talking, his voice and throat still really sore, he didn’t think he would have been able to get a word in, even if he could have said something, with the way she was talking. She did that… Speaking in excess when she was relieved or nervous. It was a quirk of hers. She told Lincoln how she had prayed every night and morning, and every second he had been in surgery, for him to get better and make it through… God must have been listening, because not only did Lincoln make it through, but he was able to make a full recovery. Lincoln made sure to have her reassure him she was okay physically… He knew she must have had some injuries, and he wanted to make sure it hadn’t been anything serious or that anything got infected. She said she was fine._

_Lincoln got maybe five minutes, tops, of peace with his little Bug before things erupted into chaos. Suddenly there was an army of doctors and nurses in the room checking him over and scolding Clarke for being on the bed, or even in the room in the case of one nurse. Jake looked clueless as to what to do or what was going on, seeing as how Lincoln had been doing just fine not a minute before… It wasn’t like he was going into cardiac arrest or seizing or anything. The teenager’s heart rate had been completely normal but they were still shuffling Jake and Clarke from the room, and bustling around making Lincoln more than a little dizzy. Jake tried to take Clarke’s hand to lead her away out of the room, but she ducked around him and tried returning to Lincoln’s bedside, before one doctor grabbed her and started dragging her to the door where Jake was being held back by an orderly… They tried to take her away from him by force, and Lincoln started to get angry while at the same time, panicking. He had just gotten her back and they wanted to take her away? Lincoln was weak, but he was determined, so he started to try to get up. Lincoln was struggling against the hands holding him down, and his heart rate had increased significantly. Clarke was crying begging the guy to let her go, and then suddenly, Jackson and Abby were there, and oh boy were they furious._

_The male doctor that had Clarke let her go immediately, and then she was right back by Lincoln’s bedside. He had one good arm that he used to wrap around her little shaking body while she buried her face in his neck and just sobbed… Lincoln was livid they had tried to take her away from him, but at the same time, he calmed down because she was right there in his arms, safe. Jackson made everyone but the Griffins leave the room, and then took over Lincoln’s care for the rest of his stay there, well, he and Abby that is. She had come to the hospital with Clarke that morning, but got caught up in the lobby talking with Jackson about Lincoln waking up the night before and being well enough to have the breathing tube removed, so she let Clarke come up without her, but with a guard... That's how Clarke had learned Lincoln woke up during the night. When Abby showed up in the room, she was cross that someone had manhandle her daughter, and was worried about any damage Lincoln might have done with all the moving he’d done._

_Once they both were done fussing over the teenager, and determined he hadn’t messed anything up, and was still fully on the mend, Lincoln got a pretty brief summary of what happened after he lost consciousness. Basically, after Jake found them in the basement, he saw how bad off Lincoln was and immediately rushed the boy to the nearest hospital… He was pretty much on the brink of death. They had to perform surgery on him in Texas to stop the internal bleeding and stabilize him enough to travel so they could move him to Seattle. Jake had wanted Abby’s doctor colleague, Jackson, to work on him, and begin the tedious task of piecing the teenager back together. The surgery done in Texas had only been minor, just enough to get him by, because with the amount of damage Lincoln had, he needed the best, and Jackson was the best._

“I didn’t think to ask, but I’m sure you’ve heard of Jackson right?” Lincoln asked with raised eyebrows. Bellamy nodded… Dr. Jackson Tiller, the man who took Clarke under his wing and became her mentor. Yeah, he had a hell of a lot to thank Dr. Tiller for now… More than just bringing Clarke to New York. The good doctor had saved Clarke’s brother, the very man who had protected and gotten her through what was probably the darkest period of her life. Bellamy sincerely hoped he got the chance to one day meet the man who had played such a significant role in the Griffin siblings’ lives. “Your comment earlier about me knocking on death’s door, wasn’t that far off by the way… I was extremely close.”

Bellamy nodded, swallowing thickly. He’d had similar near death experiences, but none as close as what Lincoln had just described to him… Being beaten almost to death… Damn. “What about after you woke up? What happened then?” Bellamy prompted, watching the sun slowly dip into the horizon.

_Lincoln was in the hospital for another week or so. Clarke was there every day, hardly leaving his side for any length of time. She was there most nights too, curled up on the cot beside his bed... She had these nightmares, and he was the only one who could truly calm her. Jake was great at helping her calm down too, but it was only after seeing Lincoln, breathing and alive that she was able to relax. Lincoln could tell she was happy to be near her mom and dad, but she was still acting abnormal compared to the little girl Lincoln had gotten to know when he first met her. She was reserved and cautious. She still didn’t smile or laugh often, just so serious all the time. Jake and Abby assured Lincoln that that's how she was before the whole ordeal had happened, shy and timid, and he accepted their answer, to an extent… He still felt something was missing though. There was something in her eyes, like a spark or a light, that Lincoln had seen in the beginning of his time with her, that was missing, just gone, even though she had familiar people, things, and surroundings all around her._

_Near the end of his time in the hospital, Lincoln realized he had to begin to think about what he was going to do when he got out of the hospital… He was close to being 16, and he realized he’d probably be going into the system for another two years, staying in a group home or something ‘til he was 18 and no longer a ward of the state. Lincoln wondered if there was a possibility that he could stay in Washington, near Clarke, or if they were going to ship him back to Georgia again. Lincoln in no way wanted to leave Clarke, but if he had to go back to Georgia, he wanted to see if he could find Helen and let her know that he was okay. About two days before he was to be released, Jake, Abby, and a social worker came to Lincoln’s room to talk… He was sure that was it, and he was as good as gone. He would miss his little Bug like crazy, and he knew she would miss him, but he had no clue how to make sure he stayed with her. He had no idea what he was going to say to Clarke to break it to her or explain it to her, but he was dreading it._

_Turns out he didn’t need to worry about any of that because they came to talk to Lincoln about the Griffins’ wanting to adopt him and make him a part of their family. They didn’t tell or bring Clarke because they didn’t want Lincoln to think they were just wanting to do this for Clarke or to make Clarke happy… They also didn’t want her to be heartbroken if Lincoln said no- As if he would. Abby and Jake said that they would love to have a son, and wanted to take him in, if that was something he was amenable to. Lincoln was very willing to be adopted by them, mainly because it meant he could stay with Clarke… Lincoln didn’t quite know Abby and Jake well enough at that point to want to stay for them._

_Lincoln went home with them two days later, and continued healing. The holiday was… Interesting. It was just the four of them, and they combined Clarke and Lincoln’s birthdays so they could celebrate together seeing as how Lincoln had been in a coma on her birthday, and from what Lincoln understood, Clarke had spent her birthday like every other day, with him at the hospital. The holiday was awkward almost, like Jake and Abby didn’t know how to act around Lincoln or Clarke or how to treat them incase anything the adults said upset them or set them off. Other than nightmares, Clarke and Lincoln were both holding their own, all things considering. Clarke hated new people, or people calling her Charlotte, which was quickly stopped after everyone realized Clarke had anxiety attacks every time someone called her by her first name, but those things were mostly expected after everything they had both been through. As it was Christmas, gifts were given that year, and that of course reminded Lincoln of Helen. He hoped that she was having a good holiday with her other adoptive kids and grandkids… The social worker lady had said she would inform Helen that Lincoln had been found, alive, and was adopted by the Griffins, but no one had heard anything back from her which, at the time, Lincoln thought was a good thing._

_At the beginning of January, Jake brought in two tutors for Clarke and Lincoln, so they could catch up in school. They were both two very sweet old ladies who never failed to bring their pupils homemade cookies that they’d all eat before separating to do their individual schooling. Both Jake and Abby were quite wary about either of their children going anywhere or even leaving the house… Like they’d be snatched if they left the grounds for even a moment, even though their house had security like Fort Knox. Their parental concern was a little smothering at times, but Lincoln understood, and he wasn’t really in any condition to go anywhere anyhow, so those early days consisted mostly of school work, movies, board games, cards, etc._

_By the end of January, Lincoln was pretty much healed, just doing some physical therapy for his shoulder… He had a torn rotator cuff that he’d had surgery on when he was brought to Seattle, and he was in the final stages of physical therapy. Right about the time the two tutors came on, Jake also got his children a therapist to help them mentally work through what happened and the repercussions of it all. Their therapist was an old geezer, quick as a whip though, with eyes that cut straight through someone’s lies and bullshit with just one look. The therapist was a friend of Jake’s deceased father that he knew from way back when._

_At the beginning of March, Lincoln was pretty much caught up with school, and asked that he be allowed to actually go to school properly instead of being home schooled, which is pretty much what had been occurring up ‘til that point… Clarke was right there with him, wanting to do anything her big brother did. Lincoln could tell that while Clarke was weary of leaving the house, she was going stir crazy being there all the time. Lincoln knew it wasn’t healthy to have her there all the time, and Helen’s old warning about becoming a hermit like old Mr. Huddlestone rattled around in his head. Jake and Abby were reluctant of course, but Lincoln, along with the therapist, convinced them both it was something they both really needed to do. They had to begin to get back into a normal routine, going out, getting accustom to society and people again after being isolated for so long... Even longer in Lincoln’s case. School was a good start, and Clarke and Lincoln were supposed to work from there and build. Lincoln specifically asked Jake and Abby to find them both a middle and high school either connected or near each other, so he could keep an eye on Clarke at school, and be nearby if she happened to need him for anything… It was for Lincoln’s peace of mind too. It was his job as her brother to look out for her after all._

_The next day both Griffin children were enrolled in a private school with the best security in the state, and two personal security guards assigned specifically to each of them by Jake, shadowing them from the moment they stepped out of the house to the minute they crossed back over the threshold into the house… Lincoln later found out that the school’s increased security was due to all the other kids being sons and daughters of important political figures or business executives, which was a bit confusing at first, because Jake was just an engineer and Abby a doctor. Sure they both made pretty good money, but it seemed like they had a lot of excess, even for their two respective career fields... Private school for two kids had to cost an arm and a leg, as well as the house they lived in because it was huge. They had fancy cars, the latest electronics, more men guarding the house, not to mention all the people they hired for Clarke and Lincoln… The therapist, Lincoln’s physical therapist, the two security guards, the two tutors. Then there was the not so little, little matter of Lincoln’s hospital bills, which must have equaled the value of a small fortune. Things weren't really adding up to Lincoln, and then there was the fact that his new last name invoked a strange reaction in most people… They were either frightened of him and wanted nothing to do with him, jumped to do what he said, or hated him automatically, reason not required. People always seemed to treat him differently, teacher and adults included, and he had no idea why that was, and that was when things took a… Twisted turn. Lincoln took a little time one day, and looked into Jake… Into what Jake did for a living, and what he found was more than a little surprising. A crime boss… His adoptive father was the Don of a huge crime family._

“What did you do?” Bellamy asked inquisitively. Getting Lincoln’s perspective of an outsider looking in, was fascinating. Bellamy had grown up, practically all his life, knowing who his father was and what he did for a living. He’d been encouraged and led like a lamb to slaughter into the life he lived now, ultimately making the decision to join out of revenge, but what could push Lincoln, a man who didn’t grow up knowing about the life, into joining? He was pretty sure Jake hadn’t lured him into it like his own father had.

“At first, I ignored it.” Lincoln said with a shrug. “He did what he did for a living. I had nothing to concern myself with, because I was not a part of it, nor would I be. He’d obviously been doing what he did successfully for many years. What the man did for a living wasn’t my business, as long as Clarke was safe.” Lincoln said vehemently.

“What changed?” Bellamy asked knowingly.

“Clarke did. She got worst… She withdrew into herself so much…” Lincoln seemed to choke on his words, strangled by the emotion they evoked.

“What do you mean?” Bellamy asked confused, not following how that affected him joining his Family, or how she could have gotten worst. “Did the therapist guy not help?”

Lincoln’s eyebrows drew together in thought, trying to figure out a way to explain the situation. “Well… Yes, and no. He helped me more than Clarke I would say… He helped her cope with things at the time I guess, while he helped me start to actually heal. We only saw him for about half a year, maybe a little more, before he up and decided to retire. Up until meeting Clarke and coming home with the Griffins, I’d never had a family, just a long string of orphanages, foster families, and then the psychotic Burke’s. Yes, I had Helen for a short while, but it was really just her, and she was like an elderly grandmother, ya know? I’d never truly had a dad, mom, or sibling before, who cared about me and my wellbeing without asking or expecting things from me in return… Let’s just say I had a hard time adjusting to a normal family life with an actual loving family who didn’t hit you for minor infractions. Jake’s side job never made anything any easier either. Clarke on the other hand, had a stable family before she was taken… You could say it was easier to get a kid like me to begin accepting getting a family than to get a kid to believe your whole life isn’t all going to be ripped away again like it was for her. I didn’t really ever have any triggers like Clarke did, so that is also a reason I say the first guy could help me better than he did Clarke.

“The Clarke you know today is not the same Clarke from back then. Those several months before we started seeing the new psychiatrist, were the absolute worst for both Bug and me. Clarke was just going through the motions of living it seemed… I couldn’t see the girl I had come to think of as my sister in any of the happy family photographs lining the halls of the home we both shared, because she just wasn’t there. The little girl in the pictures smiled and had an aura of happiness about her… The little girl that I sat with at the breakfast table every morning, could barely make eye contact with anyone. I was told repeatedly how shy and quiet she was before everything happened… That fact was used so many times to justify how she acted during those months, but I knew my practically silent sister wasn’t just shy… She was suffering. Those two months where we only had each other to rely on created a bond.” Lincoln said leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and twisting his back a little toward Bellamy, before lifting his shirt to the top of his shoulders revealing the multiple tattoo’s on the man’s back… But one in particular, an infinity symbol, stood out, because Clarke had one in exactly the same spot- middle of the back, between the shoulder blades, over the heart. There were words there, but Bellamy was too far away and at an odd angle to read them.

“What does it say?” Bellamy asked, his curiosity set ablaze as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, his hands handing in the air between his spread knees, almost mirroring Lincoln.

Lincoln dropped the shirt and leaned back, settling in his chair, before running his hand over his shaved head. “It says ‘My sister’s protector’.”

“What does hers say?” Bellamy asked. Hers must say something different…

Lincoln looked up and glared at him. “Do I want to know how you know about my sister’s tattoo?” Bellamy just raised an eyebrow not saying anything. Lincoln sighed heavily, his eyes still narrowed on Bellamy. “Hers says ‘My brother’s keeper’.”

Damn… Even an unfeeling bastard like him could admit that their shared ink was a stunning testament that spoke volumes to the connection they both shared. Not related by blood but by something deeper… Bellamy knew all about that. All of his guys were his eternal honorary brothers, and he loved them as such. He could understand the sibling bond Lincoln and Clarke shared, and how important it must be to both of them.

“I know her…” Lincoln continued. “I know what she’s feeling before she even realizes it sometimes, and she’s the same with me. So many things in those dark months set her off and triggered anxiety attacks it seemed. She couldn’t get through a week without a panic attack happening… A loud noise, someone getting to close to her without her knowing or strange people in the room without her knowing, the smell of cigarette smoke and whiskey specifically, and people using her first name, were all triggers. She had this overwhelming fear of small dark spaces and the dark in general too… She told me it was like being back in the closet every time, waiting for me to come for her after Cassidy and Frank had fallen asleep. I was helpless. Jake was helpless. Abby was helpless when she wasn’t causing them.” Lincoln said bitterly, looking down. “Abby was impatient with Clarke’s recovery. Physically Clarke was fine, but mentally? No, she was not fine. She needed someone who was actually going to help her, and she was not getting that with our first therapist. Abby didn’t seem to understand why Clarke wasn’t getting better already and why she wasn’t going back to the normal little girl she was before she’d been kidnapped… Why their lives from _before_ couldn’t get back to normal. She couldn’t seem to grasp that Clarke wasn’t getting the help she needed, and therefore wasn’t getting better. I think every time Abby used Clarke’s first name, she was trying to force normality on her daughter, but for her own benefit, to ease her own hurt and pain, not realizing how selfish she was being by doing that, and how much it hurt and hindered Clarke in her recovery…”

_No one knew what to do… Lincoln kept telling Jake to get someone new that would help her, but it was difficult when Clarke refused help from everyone at every turn, insisting she would be fine. She started shutting everyone but Jake and Lincoln out, because they were the only ones she felt she could truly trust. Clarke was like a ghost or a zombie, just walking around lifeless, numb to the world going on around her. She would eat, but only at Lincoln or Jake’s prompting. She would listen to everything around her, but would rarely speak. Smiling or laughing? Forget about it. Sometimes she would get this blank stare… Her blue eyes would just glaze over and become this terrifying light grey color. It was as though she completely zoned out of everything around her. Her teachers were worried about her, sending notes home about her odd behavior and lack of participation… One teacher even going as far as to write ‘her mind just isn’t here’. The only time Lincoln could actually get the little girl to express herself was when they drew… They would spend hours just drawing together, like they had when they’d been with the Burke’s, passing pages back and forth. A lot of what she drew during that time was dark… A lot of shadows, pain, anger, and fear bled through the pages. Lots of black, red, and grey…_

_At the beginning of May, things reached a breaking point. Clarke was waking up every night with these horrible nightmares… Lincoln wasn’t much better off to be honest, but she was waking up every night without fail, sobbing that he, that they, were coming after them. It wasn’t hard to figure out who she was talking about… Frank and Cassidy. That was when Lincoln realized Clarke was waiting for one or both of them to get lose and come for them both, but the more Lincoln thought on that, the more something glaringly obvious hit him… There had been no cops. No cop had ever questioned Lincoln in the hospital or after he got out, it wasn’t cops who found them in that cabin, that had been Jake, and lastly, Clarke had never been reported missing… At least Lincoln was pretty sure she hadn’t been. Then Lincoln thought about Jake, and what Jake did… His side job, and that’s when Lincoln started putting all the pieces together, and came to the conclusion that Jake had either killed the couple, or he still had them alive somewhere._

_Needing to know what happened, Lincoln came right out and told Jake what he knew, and asked him what he did with the couple. Jake was a bit shocked and surprised, but he knew his adoptive son was smart and would eventually put it all together… Granted, he didn’t expect Lincoln to be so blunt about it or to put it all together so soon, Jake answered him honestly regardless. Jake had cabin, much like the one in Texas, a couple hours away that he’d had them locked up in, under 24/7 guard supervision. Lincoln told him he wanted Jake to take him there to the cabin. After the resounding ‘Hell no.’ from Jake, Lincoln told him that he just wanted to talk to them, confront them as it were, something, he reminded the older man, that he would have gotten had they been in a court of law, which was where they technically should have been. Jake was weary, but accepted what the teenager was saying… The older man hoped that perhaps by doing this he would be able to provide the teen with some type of closure._

_Jake drove them out there late one night. When they got there, they walked into the basement of the house where they were being held… It was a lot like Déjà vu, but this time, the basement was filled with torture implements. There were some of Jake’s men there… Watch crews that were changing out rotation. Most decided to just stick around for the show they were sure was about to go down. All Lincoln’s attention was on the two cages, lined against the wall, one was empty, while the other one had Frank slumped over in it… He could hardly recognize Frank- his face so disfigured by bruises and cuts. The woman was nowhere to be seen._

_“What did you do to him?” Lincoln asked perplexed, completely taken off guard by Frank’s appearance. “And what about the woman? Where is she?” He asked looking around, and beginning to panic when she was nowhere to be found. Was she let loose? Did she escape?_

_“That’s a good question.” Jake said curiously, turning to look at his guys._

_One guy stepped forward, and walked over to a sheet on the ground behind the stairs, lifting it to reveal one Cassidy Burke… Dead. The guy quickly explained, “She died about three hours ago, Boss. The withdrawal got to be too much, and she succumbed.” Lincoln looked at her face carefully, as it was the only part of her that he could see, and he couldn’t help but notice her sallow complexion and her sunken eyes… Her cheeks had hollowed out considerably showing her weight loss… Looking at her, Lincoln felt nothing at first, and then slowly, this lightening feeling spread across his chest… Relief, he identified._

_“Huh…” Jake said mostly put out, as the man covered the corpse back up with the sheet. “How disappointing.” He said gazing in disgust at the form under the sheet. Just as cool as Antarctica, Jake turned to a quiet Lincoln and told him plain and simple, “I tortured them both is what I did to them. Franklin over there has taken quite a couple of beatings and starvings, much like the ones you and Lottie received from him, and he has recovered quite nicely for his next beating. Cassidy, before her untimely death, was going through heroin withdrawals.”_

_“How did she get the drugs?” Lincoln asked confused._

_“I gave them to her… One syringe full of heroin, a few hours of a high, and then a week of withdrawals.” Jake explained, with a shrug, as if it was a common occurrence for him. Hell, for all Lincoln knew, it could have been a common occurrence for the older man…_

_“Why not just kill them right away?” Lincoln asked quietly, looking at the pitiful state of the two people he once feared more than anything in the world._

_“Death is too good for them both after the number of children they’d killed together.... Twelve kids in total.” Jake said prowling in front of the cage holding the man, missing Lincoln’s look of horror._

_“Twelve?” He asked disturbed._

_There was something in his voice that made Jake stop to look up… “Yes… I take it you didn’t know?” Lincoln tried swallowing around the lump in his throat as he shook his head ‘no’… God, he felt sick. Twelve. Twelve children, kidnapped and killed. Who knew what else had happened to those kids between the time they were taken to the time they were killed._

_“What happened to them?” Lincoln asked weakly. He wanted to know what would have become his fate, and probably Clarke’s too, had it not been for Jake…_

_“You don’t want to know.” Jake said gravely… Knowingly. “All you need to know it that all the remains of those children that were taken and killed have been found, buried, and their families have been given closure.” Lincoln nodded, steeling himself for the talk he wanted to have with the man, seeing as how he was the only one alive._

_Jake gave a couple of orders to his men, and then Frank was being dragged out of his prison and shackled to a chair in the middle of the room. Once he was settled, Jake waved his hand forward, saying, “Ask away.” Before leaning back on the table to the side of them…_

_Standing in front of the man slumped over in the chair, Lincoln asked the first question that came to mind when looking at him, “Why take me?”_

_Frank looked up with hollow haunted eyes, and said in a raspy voice, “You were an easy target… No one would come looking for you. No one would care if a little orphaned boy disappeared… Kids slip through the system all the time.” He said honestly. Lincoln winced… Not because the words hurt him, but because they were mostly untrue. Lincoln had Helen who had wanted him… Who would have looked for him, and possibly did. Lincoln didn’t actually know though, and kids did slip through the system…_

_“Why not kill me like the other kids?” Lincoln demanded._

_“You weren’t annoying. You were obedient. You never tried to run, even though in the end you proved to be a disloyal traitor… Leading this son of a bitch right to us.” Frank sneered at Lincoln and then Jake._

_That barb earned him a swift punch to the jaw by Jake, who resumed his calm watchful position leaning against the table, looking as though nothing happened. “Watch your mouth you disgusting piece of trash…” Jake warned the man, in an eerily calm voice that belied the anger boiling just under the surface. The man spit blood out on the floor, more dribbling out of the corner of his mouth…_

_Frank didn’t heed Jake’s warning though, continuing on saying to Lincoln, “I would have eventually killed you… Maybe when you got to be around 18. I couldn’t have you leaving and exposing us to the whole world… I should have done it sooner.” He hissed, his teeth tinted red with blood._

_Jake quickly punched him in the face again and in the gut, making the already battered man hunch over and wheeze trying to continue to drag air into his lungs, despite the pain that was surely wracking his whole body._

_“Why did you take Clarke?” Lincoln asked after a moment of deliberation on what to ask next. “Why kidnap children in the first place? There is such a thing as adoption, or even having children of your own…” Lincoln said shaking his head._

_“We couldn’t do either…” Frank rasped still mostly hunched over. Lincoln could see the man’s eyes glazing over as they traveled to the sheet behind Lincoln, which was covering his wife’s cold unmoving body. “Cassy couldn’t have children… There was an accident when she was younger that made her unable to have children. We did try to adopt, but Cass had a history of drugs, I had some things on my rap sheet that weren’t adoption friendly…” Frank said, almost bitterly._

_“What kind of things?” Lincoln asked immediately._

_“Larceny, assault and battery, armed robbery…” Frank listed, shrugging as if it was a no big deal and ridiculous that they were denied adoption rights. “Cass always wanted a boy first, and then a little girl… Something about wanting an older brother when she was little.” He said getting choked up, still staring at where his dead wife’s body lay just feet from him._

_“Wait, are you saying that all the children before Clarke were boys, not girls?” Lincoln asked hopefully. Frank’s eyes flickered back to Lincoln as he nodded._

_Lincoln about doubled over with relief… No other little girl went through what he’d been able to save Clarke from… He still felt horrible those kids had been taken, only to be killed, but to know none of them had been brutalized like that, was a relief. In all the years Lincoln had been with the couple, Frank had never looked at him like that, thankfully… He’d always been a punching bag, and that was it._

_“Lincoln?” Jake asked confused at the boy’s reaction._

_“They were all boys, not little girls.” Lincoln said, as if that was explanation enough. “You don’t touch little boys do you?” Lincoln asked Frank for confirmation, shocking Jake. Lincoln was pretty sure Frank didn’t, seeing as how Frank never came after him or touched him inappropriately, but he wasn’t sure. Lincoln needed verification._

_“No.” Frank said, disgusted. “I’m not some pedophile.” He spat._

_“Yes you are! Just because you don’t like little boys doesn’t mean you don’t like little girls!” Lincoln snarled, taking a threatening step forward, to do what, he didn’t know, but Lincoln suddenly found himself being held back by one of Jake’s men… Jake had given the man a signal before Lincoln could do something. Lincoln shrugged the guy off, holding his hands up in a gesture that meant he wasn’t going to do anything._

_The whole room was quiet for a beat, save for the heavy footfalls of Jake as he paced the room like a caged lion waiting to pounce at any moment. Finally, Jake spoke, his voice coming out rough and full of emotion. “He’s a pedophile… That touches little girls… And my daughter was kidnapped by him and was with him for two whole months? Oh God…” Jake choked out running one shaking hand over his face, and the other through his hair, putting together what Lincoln’s words were implying._

_“Hey now, I never touched her. I don’t have a thing for little girls, okay? I’m not a pedophile.” Frank said adamantly._

_“Liar.” Lincoln spit venomously._

_“He touched her? She never said anything…” Jake said Lincoln weakly, wanting to know what happened to his little girl. Was this the thing that continued to haunt her?_

_“He tried.” Lincoln said firmly, glaring at Frank who had gone suspiciously quiet. “I got to her in time before he could do anything seriously life-altering. The first time…”_

_“First time?!” Jake interrupted loudly, horrified._

_“There was only two incidences.” Lincoln said calmly, trying to project that onto Jake. “The first, I found him on top of her, holding her down. The second, he was standing over her reaching for her. He was drunk both times.” Lincoln said, turning to look at Frank, and not missing how he paled, as though remembering his drunken actions. His protecting her went unsaid by Lincoln, but was heard loud and clear by Jake and the room as a whole._

_Hearing those words, Jake’s eyes lost focus, before closing, as he breathed in deeply. Suddenly without warning, Jake’s eye flew open, flashing in the dimly lit room with a touch of insanity, before he turned, and let out a loud roar, throwing everything on the table at his back to the floor. He continued to breathe deeply, leaning heavily on the table, his tense shoulders slumped in what Lincoln thought was defeat._

_Then the strangest thing happened. Jake’s tense shoulders relaxed and he straightened up, turning around. To anyone looking at him, Jake seemed to be completely calm… Lincoln knew better though. Lincoln watched as Jake’s face went from blank of all emotions one moment, to a mask of cold fury, the likes of which Lincoln had never seen before, the next._

_Jake grabbed a large knife off the wall and turned to Lincoln, commanding coldly, “Leave. Now. Go upstairs and wait for me.”_

_Lincoln had a sneaking suspicion of what was coming, and while leaving seemed like the logical thing to do, some part, deep inside the teenager told him to stay… To bear witness to what Jake was about to do to Frank. That part was louder than any other thought running through his head, and had him saying, “No, I’m staying.” In such a firm tone of voice, Jake knew it was useless to try and dissuade Lincoln otherwise… Witnessing this was not going to set anything in stone for the boy in terms of his future…_

_With a nod of his head at Lincoln, and the knife clenched firmly in his hand, Jake walked up behind the chair containing the now struggling and pleading Frank._

_“Stop! What are you doing?!” Frank asked panicking at the sight of the knife._

_“Don’t worry Frankie… You’ll be with your wife very soon.” Jake promised darkly hovering behind the strapped down man._

_Quick as a snake strike, Jake grabbed a handful of Frank’s long dark greasy brown hair, and jerked the man’s head all the way back, exposing his neck. Ever so slowly Jake brought the knife up to his throat, and let it caress the skin there… He lightly dragged it across his throat until it hovered right over one of the carotid arteries. With a little pressure, the knife nicked the skin drawing a pearl of dark red blood, making Frank jerk, trying to get away from the knife. His struggles only succeeded in digging the knife further into his own neck…_

_Jake leant down and whispered to Frank, loud enough for Lincoln to hear, “I hope you and your wife rot in hell for eternity.”_

_Leaning up slightly, Jake plunged the knife into his neck and yanked it roughly out, blood squirting from the wound. With Lincoln’s close proximity, blood spattered across his shirt and arms, shocking him. Lincoln watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as Jake, cool and calm as could be, grabbed a rag and began cleaning the blood off the blade of the knife in his hand, while a man bled out right in front of him… Frank coughed and spluttered as his life source drained out of his neck and he became weaker and weaker. Eventually he stopped thrashing and twitching all together._

_When the blood was cleaned off his hand and the knife to his liking, Jake walked around to the front of the chair, kicking the man’s foot. When there was no response, and no signs of life in the man whatsoever, Jake spit on him, and said, “Hell is too good for him, but it’ll have to do.”_

_Turning, Jake saw Lincoln’s still, blood covered form, and told him they were leaving. Lincoln waited in the car while Jake gave his orders to his men. They didn’t speak the whole way home… It was dark, and Clarke was still in bed asleep when they got home, something which Lincoln was immensely grateful for at the time. Abby was still up though, and was stunned at her son’s appearance…_

_Still in shock at what he witnessed, Lincoln didn’t say anything to either adult as he took off up the stairs to get cleaned up. Once he was clean, Lincoln found himself tossing and turning in his bed, unable to sleep with his mind running several different directions. He was only pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Clarke screaming and crying, having just woke up from a nightmare. When Lincoln rushed into the little girl’s room ready to comfort her, he found a heart breaking sight… Clarke was sitting up in bed, clutching her neck, sobbing, saying she could feel his hands around her throat as he choked her to death, and that she couldn’t breathe, even as she was gasping air._

_The little girl worked herself into a panic attack, and all Lincoln could do was hold her through it and whisper that she was safe, that he was safe, and that they were going to be okay… Although neither of them knew it, Jake and Abby were outside the bedroom door, listening the whole time and feeling totally helpless, as they knew Lincoln could help her more than they could, having been there and experienced it with her._

_The next day, Jake called both of his children to his office. When they both arrived, Jake and Abby sat down and told them everything… Both adults took turns revealing what exactly Jake’s job entailed, what had happened with the Burke’s, and details about the secret life they had been living. Clarke had been mostly kept in the dark about everything her entire life, but Jake and Abby decided it was time for her to know, along with Lincoln. Jake made it clear they could do whatever they wanted, and he wouldn’t pressure them into anything ever… It all was a secret though. Their own family secret, to which both Clarke and Lincoln swore they would keep it and protect it._

_While Clarke was shocked to hear what happened to the Burke’s, she was relieved to hear they were dead, and couldn’t come to hurt her or her family. While she did believe her father and brother, the little girl wanted proof of their deaths… She wanted to be completely sure they were gone, and could never come back to get her. Jake was, once again, reluctant… She was just a little girl, she didn’t need to see things like that, right? But would she ever truly believe they were gone if she had no proof? Jake decided to ask Lincoln about whether or not what he saw helped or hurt._

_Lincoln said that had he not seen it with his own two eyes, he probably wouldn’t have believed it, simply because it was all so surreal that they were dead, and not in a jail or penitentiary somewhere. With all of that in mind, Jake decided to reveal to her what she wanted to see in the privacy of his office, just the two of them… Lincoln waited on the outside of his office for them to finish. He had no idea what to expect… Disgust? Tears? Repulsion? Sadness? More lack of emotion?_

_What Lincoln did not expect however was peace. While Lincoln didn’t know what was said or shared between father and daughter in the office, the little girl that walked out of her father’s office looked lighter somehow. Clarke told her big brother that while she felt no happiness someone had been killed, she did feel free of them and relief that they were gone. Lincoln then allowed himself to begin to hope that things could start to get better… That things would finally begin to change for the better._

“After that, her nightmares decreased in frequency and intensity… If she did have one, she always came to me, to check on me. It was like she needed to reassure herself I was still there, and that I was okay.” Lincoln explained. “I completely understood, because I was the exact same way. It was our thing, and even to this day we still do that, distance be damned… It was only about two more months after that, that the therapist guy retired and we started seeing Gina.”

At Bellamy’s confused face, Lincoln explained, “Gina is the name of the psychiatrist that I was telling you about earlier… Gina Martin is her full name. Clarke and I went to see her when we were both still 13 and 16 respectively, after the old fart retired, and she was pretty cool. She was still relatively new to medicine, compared to the old guy before her, and Jake was kind of wary of that fact, but in the end, she said or did something to convince him of her abilities… Maybe it was the fact that he essentially paid for her education, and got reports of her grades, so he knew how good she was. Her title freaked us both out at the beginning, but she explained that she would be acting solely as a psychologist for us than anything else and she’d never have to prescribe us anything or sedate one of us, because she didn’t think we needed any of that. She said she would prove she could help us without those things, but we had to be willing to work with her, which we were both willing to do. She was younger then, you know, so more our age, and she grew up in the system, sort of like me, thus the reason she borrowed the money for school… We both felt a hell of a lot more comfortable with her than the old bastard before her. She really helped Clarke and I.

“It was rough in the beginning, having to tell the whole story over again to a stranger. She made sure we told her details no matter how big or small, because they could be important to our healing and recovery. Some sessions we did together, others we did apart. Our together sessions talked mainly about my time with Clarke during the kidnapping, and my alone sessions were about the years I was with them by myself before Clarke came into the picture. I never knew what Clarke and Gina talked about during their one-on-one sessions. She was mindful to never push us more than we could take, always saying that we would ‘come back to that later’ if we got too overwhelmed. I admit to being terrified that she was going to say the close relationship Clarke and I had was unhealthy, and that we would need to be separated, but she reassured me from the get-go that, that was not something she was going to recommend, as she believed it would be detrimental to us both. Instead, she said she was going to mold our relationship for us to become even closer than we already were, which I thought was impossible at the time, but she pointed out that while our close bond was formed through what we had survived together, she was going to have us heal together and form a type of sibling relationship that even some blood-related siblings didn’t have, and she kept her word about that.

“My one-on-one sessions with Gina revealed a lot of things I never knew, or never would admit out loud or even to myself. It revealed things for which I was ashamed of and felt guilty for, but never knew why I felt those things.”

“Like what?” Bellamy asked.

“Like the fact that I was able to save her for the most part from a lot of serious physical trauma. She never had to go through the horrors of being…” Lincoln stopped abruptly and grimaced, his throat working hard to swallow, not even being able to finish the sentence out loud, but Bellamy heard the word loud and clear anyway. Bellamy was grateful he didn’t say it out loud. Even though it hadn’t happened, just thinking how close it had been, thinking how it probably would have happened if Lincoln hadn’t been there to save her, made him sick to his stomach. He could feel the blood drain from his face as he blanched, a thin sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead. “She wouldn’t have recovered had that happened,” Lincoln continued, his voice a little choked up. “I know that. I thank God every day I was with her through the whole ordeal, that I heard her scream that night, that she was able to even scream, and that I’m such a light sleeper… I have so much to be grateful for, but often that was overshadowed by the things that I felt guilty and blamed myself for at the time. Gina often told me that I did a lot for Clarke mentally during our time with the couple... By having her talk about her parents, and her life before being captured, I kept her mind intact and made her much less susceptible to developing Stockholm syndrome, which very well could have happened had I not been there to watch over her and keep her safe. While I could see how that may have helped, and while I was able to save her from being physically hurt most of the time, the mental damage they were able to inflict? I couldn’t protect her from that, no matter how much I tried, and it really messed both of us up. I always felt I should have done more to protect her.”

“What did you feel guilty for? And what do you mean it really messed you both up?” Bellamy asked trying to understand. “Did Clarke blame you for not protecting her better or something?” Bellamy asked confused, because that didn’t sound like Clarke at all.

“Hell no, she didn’t blame me for anything.” Lincoln said, shaking his head like the very idea was absurd… It very much was. “We discussed regret one day, early on… Was there something, anything, that I regretted and was there anything I would change? Did I regret playing more games at that park instead of just going home? Did I regret ever protecting Clarke, even though it meant I got hurt? What shook me to my core, and had me feeling so guilty, was all of it was a resounding no. Other than that she was hurt through all of this and that I couldn’t protect her better, no, I didn’t regret anything, and no, I wouldn't have changed anything because, everything that happened, exactly the way it happened, had given me Clarke. I hated that I didn’t regret that she was taken, especially after how much she suffered during and after the whole ordeal… I felt like a monster for not wanting anything to have changed so she didn’t get taken, because that meant I would never have gotten the chance to meet her, or get to know her, or become her brother, or love her as I do. The truth is, while I may have saved her life, she saved my life so many more times over, in so many different ways, some little, some big, some so simple as just existing… In so many ways she gave me not just the will to live again, but she gave me a life to live for, and for all of that, I’ll always be grateful she was taken by them and put through the trials she was put through because that gave her to me, and that is probably the most selfish, horrifying, and despicable thing I can or will ever say or admit to, and I can’t even bring myself to regret that, because it is the truth. I owe her far more than she’ll ever owe me, even if she denies it.”

Bellamy suddenly remembered Clarke’s words from the day before. R _emember who made you stay when you wanted to run…_ What had happened?

“Clarke said something yesterday, that caught my attention…” Bellamy said hintingly. “She said she made you stay when you wanted to run… What was that all about?” He asked curiously.

“Well…” Lincoln said.

_In the week after realizing he was thankful Clarke had been taken, Lincoln started to withdraw from Clarke… The guilt was beginning to get to be too much, and every time he looked at the little girl, a white sharp stab of it pierced his heart. That guilt was compounded exponentially by the survivor’s guilt he felt… Why had he been saved when all the other kids before him had met such gruesome unfair endings? Why did he get out, basically scot free, with a new family and a new life when the twelve other kids before him didn’t? He began to feel he didn’t deserve his new family, or his new life, and those feelings of unworthiness only continued to grow until it reached a breaking point._

_Lincoln packed a bag one night, planning to leave and not come back… Clarke and her family would be better off without him. They were never his to begin with… Not really. No matter how much he wanted to stay, it would be selfish of him to do so. He only got people hurt, and he didn’t want that to happen to the Griffins. Then there was the selfish reason he wanted to leave… Maybe, just maybe, if he left, his guilty feelings would lessen or go away completely._

_Jake and Abby had been out at a fundraising gala for the hospital that night, so it was really just Clarke, Lincoln, the maid, and the security guys. Before Lincoln could even get to the front door however, Clarke caught him and dragged him away from making what would have surely been the biggest mistake of his life. She talked him into staying, telling him how they were family no matter what, and family didn’t leave each other… Ever. She swore that if he left, she’d find him and bring him back. She tried to get her older brother to tell her what was wrong and what had caused him to pull away, but he told her he couldn’t talk to her about it. Lincoln couldn’t weigh her down with everything he was feeling… She had enough going on as it was, and didn’t need his problems added to hers. The very next day, Clarke brought Lincoln into Gina’s office, and made him tell Gina what was going on, seeing as how he couldn’t tell Clarke._

_Gina advised Lincoln not to do anything rash, especially so early on in treatment… She was going to help him, but it took time. She made Lincoln think of what leaving would do to Clarke, especially as she was fixing to begin the most difficult and strenuous part of her therapy. Gina told the teenager how much Clarke was going to need him, and asked what he would have felt if he had not listened to Clarke and simply left… The answer to that, more guilt. This time for abandoning Clarke, and breaking his promise to her to never leave her. Lincoln wouldn’t have lasted long without her anyway… He would have missed her too much. Gina made it a point in one of their together sessions to talk about the guilt he had been feeling over not wanting anything to have changed about the situation they had been in, and Clarke admitted, even after everything that had happened, that she wouldn’t have wanted anything to change either because she got the big brother she always wanted out of the horrible ordeal… That relieved a lot of the guilt and made Lincoln realize not talking about the things he was feeling, and trying to handle things on his own, could have cost him Clarke, the little sister he loved so dearly._

_After that fiasco, Lincoln made sure to work hard though his problems and issues, just like Clarke had been bravely doing. Gina was firmly of the camp that believes in replacing negative thought processes with positive ones. She had been doing a lot of self-esteem building with Clarke, and pushing her to be more open and communicative about her feelings and thoughts. Gina made sure that Clarke knew that expressing emotion wasn’t a weakness, but an effective way to communicate… Whenever she was sad or angry or happy or scared, she needed to let those emotions out in some way because holding them in wasn’t good. If Clarke didn’t want to share those emotions with people, then she needed to write them down… Gina suggested Clarke keep a journal, and either write or draw what she was feeling or anything in particular that was noteworthy, meaning her panic and anxiety attacks, and anything that happened beforehand that might have caused them. Clarke was fonder of drawing memories, and explaining the emotions surrounding the picture._

_Once all of that happened, Gina addressed the panic and anxiety attacks head on by gradually exposing the girl to stimuli and noting what kind of reactions Clarke had to it… They worked one at a time, discovering and identifying triggers that sent her into the attacks and flashbacks before working to get her to overcome them. She did push Clarke pretty hard because just letting her stay in her comfort zone wasn’t going to get her to move past anything, but never more than she could take. Jake and Lincoln were there for a lot of it due to them being the only ones who could calm her from her panic attacks… Eventually, not only was Clarke able to calm herself from the attacks, if she were to have one, but she worked through her fears altogether to where the attacks were a thing of the past almost. None of it was easy, but it was worth it in the end for Jake, Abby, and Lincoln, to see the pride and happiness fill Clarke’s face when she was able to stare a fear down when faced with it. The sense of accomplishment she felt every time she worked through a fear further built her confidence and self-esteem, and while the old Clarke never came back, she was nothing compared to the new one. The new Clarke was the true gem… She was a survivor, and a fighter. She was sweet, but cautious. She was meek, but tough and assertive when the situation called for it. She had this grace and determination about her that amazed people, and drew people to her naturally. She still disliked strangers, especially men, but she learned a lot of good people skills to be able to deal with them… Those people skills came in handy being a doctor. She got very good about reading people, and was pretty much always able to pick the good apples from the rotten ones. Clarke was loyal to a fault… When she decided to be someone’s friend, it truly was friends ‘til the very end. Most importantly to Lincoln, she and he did come out of their healing experience closer and tighter than they’d ever been. They trusted each other implicitly, with everything… They saw each other at their lowest and worst, and at their best and brightest. They had a way of keeping each other grounded, and still did._

“We had to go through years and years of intense therapy to get things to a point where we were both happy and okay, but even to this day, as you saw earlier, echoes of what happened remain. While what happened yesterday was extremely rare, it happens, just like how…” Lincoln paused, as though thinking on whether or not to reveal what he was going to say next. In the end, he must have decided to continue, “While the nightmares we both suffered with are mostly gone, there are some nights where I can still feel the beatings I used to get, or I can hear Clarke crying out to me to save or help her, and I can’t move. It’s those night where I wake up in a cold sweat, and have to immediately come check on her, or call her, so I can just hear her voice or see her and know she’s okay. She’s the same way… When I went to college, I’d get calls in the middle of the night sometimes with her sobbing on the other end of the phone telling me how she dreamt the man was on top of her holding her down again, how real it felt, or how she would dream of him burning her with cigarettes and could feel the scorching of the cigarettes branding her skin, even after she woke up, and how much it hurt. Sometimes just talking to her on the phone is okay, other times I need to be there with her it's so bad, same with me. We both came so close to losing each other, our subconscious sometimes likes to torture us with that fact, and so when consciousness takes over, it's comforting to hear or see that we both did make it through. Like I said, it's rare, but it happens. We still see Gina, individually of course… Living in Seattle, I’m able to go to her office, and Clarke teleconferences with her when she needs a session. I’ll probably be doing that when I’m staying here.”

“What happened yesterday then?” Bellamy asked, side eyeing Lincoln.

“I actually called Gina yesterday,” Lincoln revealed. “After I got Clarke settled that is, and let her know what happened and asked her why she was triggered by the smell of whiskey and cigarettes on you when that was something they worked through years ago… She said that she thought that because Clarke was in the middle of a panic attack, what it was brought on by, only Clarke knows, all we can guess is that she felt fear about something, her future most likely,” Lincoln said sadly, “but when she got a smell of that old trigger, her mind was caught off guard, and was weak enough to allow the old bad feelings of fear and dread associated with that smell to take over and it plunged her into a flashback. She’ll be fine and back to normal by tomorrow I’m sure, and if she’s not, Gina will get her to rights. Actually, I bet Gina has already called her and gotten her all straightened out. She’s brilliant like that…”

“How did you join your Family then?” Bellamy asked. “And how did Clarke get involved with the Family? Especially Clarke… I mean, I have no qualms with women in the organization, not at all. Hell, some of my best soldiers are women, but usually Bosses’ daughters are spoiled bitches, spending daddy’s money and hunting down the best prospects for a rich husband like wolves on the prowl.” Bellamy said disgusted. He had been on the receiving end of those unwanted advances one too many times. He was so happy for whatever Jake’s reason was to not raise Clarke to be like those women. “Clarke is nothing like those women. And what about Abby? How did she turn out to be such a bitch? She hardly sounds it from what you’ve told me.”

“With Abby…” Lincoln paused again, decided how much to tell. “Abby wasn’t always the ice queen she is now. Life really wore her down and changed her, but that’s a story for another day and not really mine to tell… You should really go to the source for that. I will say however, that it was a combination of things that really changed her over the past two decades or so. From what I can tell, she only really worsened to a noticeable degree in the years after the kidnapping, as she was always very controlling of not just the things around her, but of Clarke specifically, even before the kidnapping. After we were found, Abby saw how amazing Clarke was in taking care of me, both when I was in the hospital and when I got out. Immediately, she got the idea that Clarke would be a doctor just like her. The thing was, before the kidnapping, Clarke was a shy child who wanted to make her mother happy and proud, so she went along with whatever Abby wanted and let her control her. After we were found though, Abby wanted things to go straight back to how they were… Abby wanted the shy, timid child who followed her mother’s every whim, command, and wish to make her mother happy, not really realizing that Clarke would never be like that ever again. Her daughter had been beaten, humiliated, starved, and controlled completely for two months straight, her life almost exclusively in her kidnapper’s hands... Not only could things in general never change simply because of what happened, but Clarke was forever changed by the events that had occurred, especially after therapy.

“In the beginning, Clarke _did_ do everything Abby wanted her to do, but out of fear. I was much the same way, because we were both conditioned like that with the Burke’s. If you didn’t do what they said, you got hit, or starved… Jake and Abby would have never done that of course, but habit is habit. As Clarke got worse and worse, she stopped interacting with practically everyone, and that included Abby… Abby’s refusal to accept what happened really hurt their relationship and drew a wedge between them. When we went to see Gina, Clarke learned how to take control of not just her reactions and her fear, but her mind and body as a whole. She became very self-reliant and very level headed for a teenager her age. During the years that we were in intense therapy, Clarke learned what she wanted out of life, and she recognized just exactly how controlling Abby was of her… To have someone try to control her again was the exact opposite of what Clarke wanted, and so she rebelled in a way. She was respectful about it, and always considered what Abby wanted, but if she didn’t want to take AP Biology and instead wanted to take AP Art History in high school, then that is what she was going to do. When Abby realized Clarke intended to have some type of career involving her art, she flipped. She cursed herself for encouraging Clarke’s talent as a child because it was coming back to bite her in the ass. I’m sure you’ve heard how that turned out, and if you haven’t, you can guess, seeing as how Clarke is a doctor and not the world renowned artist she should be. There was a lot of tension between the both of them for years and years, and all of that accumulated into what you saw yesterday, but no matter how frustrated or mad or upset Clarke was, she was always respectful of Abby, being her mother and all.”

“Wow…” Bellamy said, shaking his head. “What about the other part?”

“With me joining the Family, there was no huge display of my work or tragic back story where someone close to me was murdered like there is for you, although, as I said before, you and I both joined our respective Families within roughly a year of each other after the people who had severely hurt us were killed. My joining was similar to yours in that I joined in the summer, just a couple of months after the couple were killed, but unlike you, there was no forcing my hand or sneaky father's. I made a choice, and lived with it… Jake offered me a way out, but I didn’t take it. I don’t know if this is going to make any sense, or sound sane, but I joined because of the justice I found in the mob life.”

_Justice?_ Bellamy thought confused. That was definitely a strange way to think of it… Bellamy leaned forward in his seat, even more curious now to hear Lincoln’s reasoning, especially if he said he _chose_ to get involved with this life with no one forcing his hand. Bellamy of course choose to get in the life too, but with completely different circumstances and motivation…

Lincoln continued, “If the Burke’s had been turned over to the police, and arrested, there would have been a huge ugly trial, lasting for months and months on end… Our lives would have been dragged through the mud, and everything about the time that we were with the couple would have been rehashed and revealed to the world. Clarke and I could not have handled having to testify then, and why should we have had to? It took forever for us to even be able to fully open up to Gina, and tell her our story, how would we have been expected to tell a room full of strangers? For what they did to us alone, the kidnapping and such, they would have gotten maybe 20 years to life in prison. They didn’t deserve to live period. I don’t know what would have happened with the other kidnapping and killing cases, whether the state would have found enough evidence to indict and prosecute them to get the death penalty, but we never had to worry about any of that, because Jake was able to take care of it all and get real immediate justice _for_ us… Jake hurt and punished the people who hurt his family. Jake protected us from messy trials, invasive media intrusions, and gave Clarke and I both a peace of mind about the couple never getting released or escaping and coming for us because he silenced them for good.

“Quite simply, Jake took care of his family, which is originally what the mob was all about. That appealed to me more than anything. By joining, I could better protect my family, I could better protect Clarke, and not have to worry about stupid red tape and the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Justice System. My name alone could get results, quicker than calling the cops could… No one fucked with the Griffins after all. Those were my only thoughts when I first joined, and then after, it all became a much bigger picture. You know as well as I do that there are people in this life that are the lowest of the low… Truly scum of the earth. By being a part of the Family, I’m able to work completely outside the law, and protect innocents from those people who have no morals or standards. I have my own law of morality that I follow, and I expect it to be followed by those beneath me on the food chain. By being the crime in the city, I found, you can control and regulate it…”

“So you’re saying you’re some type of vigilante taking out bad guys?” Bellamy asked skeptically. That couldn’t be right.

“Hell no.” Lincoln scoffed. “I’m a criminal, same as you… I’m just saying, I’ve never killed someone who didn’t truly deserve it in one way or another. I make sure my people _aren’t_ those depraved bastards with no conscious or morality hurting innocents. I try to keep innocents from getting involved or hurt.” Bellamy nodded then in complete understanding… He and Lincoln were _very_ similar it seemed, because he was the _exact_ same way. Hell, that was precisely his attitude about it all.

“There were other things too…” Lincoln said. “I appreciated the family I found there, both in the crime family and with the Griffins. Jake was proud to have a son following in his footsteps, like he himself had done, and his father before him. That's the thing with Jake… He never once treated me like an outsider or like an adopted son, from the very beginning he treated me like I was his own flesh and blood son, and I know he would have continued to treat me like that even if I had accepted his offer to leave the life of crime part out. The thing is, I liked the power I had… Clarke wasn’t the only one who had been controlled during that time… Hell, I’d been controlled by those people for close to two and a half years. I never wanted to completely take over, as that's not really my style… I’m the wizard behind the screen, if you will, and being Underboss gives me the power I crave without all the responsibility associated with becoming boss. Jake was disappointed at the beginning, but came to understand, and even respect my decision… Had I known this is where we would have ended up because of that decision, I would have taken the role on to save my sister the heartbreak of having to marry your half-brother in a heartbeat.” Lincoln said darkly. “But, I figured dad had a plan… Hell, he did. He told me all about you, and his plans to poach you from the Collins Family to come take over ours. Your stubborn ass always refused him though.” Lincoln said with an accusing look.

Bellamy shrugged, guilty as charged. “I was thinking about it.” Bellamy admitted lowly after a minute, loud enough to reach Lincoln’s ears, and surprise him a little. “The day in the park, when I was shot at and met your sister, I was thinking about leaving here and coming over there… Ironically enough, it was your sister that eventually made me stay. I should have accepted the position years ago.” Bellamy admitted further, shocking himself with the candor with which he was speaking. “That day at the airport 7 or 8 years ago, when your dad offered me the position, I should have said yes right then, right there, consequences be damned. Things would be so much different than they are now.” He said stopping himself from saying anything further. His mind however kept running over how different the present would be had he _just_ said _yes_ then _._ He could have met Clarke then, and they could have been together for several years now… Probably married. _A baby on the way maybe,_ a voice _deep_ down whispered lowly in his ear. He would have encouraged her to get the art degree she wanted, instead of the Pre-med one she got. He would have been the Don of his own Family and running his company from Seattle, while she stayed home to work on her art or whatever it was she wanted to do. He would have supported her doing anything that she wanted, anything that made her happy. They would live in the house Jake had given him… The one on the sound, with the beautiful view. _She would have absolutely loved that view…_ he thought sadly, and now she’d never see it. He would have still had his guys, but with the addition of a great brother-in-law in Lincoln… Yes, thing would be very different to how they were right now, and Bellamy’s chest split open in pain at the very thought.

Thankfully, Lincoln began speaking, giving Bellamy enough time to compose himself from his aching hurt. “Clarke was never like those other girls you described. She had no desire to spend in excess or unnecessarily… Still doesn’t. She liked simple things, and while she was more like a tomboy, she knew how to be the girl too. It was never in Clarke to be stuck up or spoiled, although her demeanor can sometimes come off as that and a little distant or cold if she feels uncomfortable in a situation or with someone, but she is always polite, almost to a fault. When I did my training, Clarke was right there with me. I told you, anything I did, she wanted to do too… I guess that comes with the territory of being an older sibling. From martial arts and fighting to forging documents and learning about different weapons… She pretty much went through it all with me. There were many men who said she couldn’t do, any number of things, like a man could… She and I took great pleasure and pride in proving to them that she could not only do it, but do it better. She had a real eye for planning and strategy… She would see things not even on the board, and always have contingencies for everything. Jake didn’t exactly want her involved in the life, but like me, she got in it to save the life of an innocent, and after that just never looked back.”

“There’s another story there…” Bellamy said knowingly.

“Yeah, but, again, it’s not my story to tell. Just know the person she saved became very dear to us, and we got more family out of it.” Lincoln said ambiguously. “Clarke became Jake’s secret weapon of sorts, and it helped that other than the CPO’s and the security, no one knew what Charlotte Griffin looked like, because other than on paper, Charlotte didn't exist. Everything from schooling and bank accounts to her ITunes account were under Clarke Griffin. It was like there were two different people, Clarke the normal girl, who went out and lived life, and Charlotte, the Mob Boss's daughter who was only seen by men just before they died. She could live a relatively normal life and have her other job on the side under a completely different name.”

Bellamy nodded his head, that explained a lot. Hell, everything Lincoln had told him explained a lot… Clarke was essentially both people, the normal doctor, and the mob Boss's daughter. Bellamy’s fears from earlier were mollified somewhat… Now all he had to do was digest and wrap his head around all he’d heard. The sun was now absent from the sky… They had literally spent the whole day talking.

“Listen,” Lincoln spoke up after several moments of silence. “I need to get going… I gotta get back and talk to Clarke. I’ve got a lot to apologize and grovel for, and I’m hoping she’ll be receptive to forgiving my sorry ass. I uh- I know yesterday was more than a little rough for you-” Bellamy snorted at that, raising an eyebrow… Yeah ‘more than a little rough’ was an understatement of epic proportions. Lincoln winced at his word choice. “Yeah, probably not the best way of saying that, but… Just know you can talk to me, okay man? Just because I’m her brother doesn’t mean I don't want us to get to know each other and become friends, which is pretty much what I already think we are, considering we know each other’s life stories. I’ve heard about you for years, and I feel as though I already _do_ know you. I know you said you love her, and I know what happened yesterday probably has you a mess and all kinds of other emotions, but just… Just don’t shut her out. My sister, while a tough, strong, independent woman, has a fragile heart, that I don’t want to see any more broken than it already is.” Bellamy nodded, the lump in his throat not permitting him to speak.

Bellamy stood along with Lincoln, and they walked to the front door, their footsteps the only thing making a sound in the otherwise silent apartment. As they shook hands goodbye, a silent understanding that they _were_ friends passed between them. Lincoln nodded and Bellamy nodded back, before the other man turned for the door.

As Bellamy watched Lincoln open the door, a thought occurred to him. “Lincoln?” Lincoln turned and gave him an expectant look. “What happened to Helen?”

Lincoln’s face saddened considerably, making Bellamy’s stomach clinch. “She died eight months after I was taken… Heart attack. She knew I had been taken, and had searched for me everywhere, only, apparently her heart couldn’t take the strain of the worry and fear, and just gave out one night while sleeping. It was a painless death. She left instructions to her lawyer though, that when I did eventually come back home, he was to personally ensure that I got the contents of a security box. She left me my pocket watch that I had gotten the Christmas I was with her, several old photos of the two of us together, her mother’s pearl necklace, her wedding rings, and her old worn Bible. She also left me a letter. She never had any doubt that I would survive and come back for her. She said because I was reading the letter, that it meant she was gone, and she was just sorry she couldn’t wait however long it took for me to come back to her. She said she hoped that I was able to find or make my own family, and that they would love me like I deserved to be loved. She gave me the history on everything that she left me and wished me the best, promising to watch over me.” Lincoln’s voice cracked a little on the last words. Bellamy had no doubt the old woman had been watching out for not just Lincoln, but Clarke as well.

Bellamy nodded his head at the other man, in another farewell gesture as Lincoln gave him a small smile and left, the click of the door the only sound in his wake. The silence of the dark apartment was crushing, but, really, what was new.

After locking the front door, Bellamy went to his bedroom to take a shower. His mind told him he should probably eat something, seeing as how he hadn’t eaten anything since that morning at his grandmother's, but his stomach immediately rebelled at the thought, so no food it was. After his shower, Bellamy dressed for bed and laid down, not bothering to get under the covers… His mind raced with everything Lincoln had told him, even as his body screamed for him to sleep.

He didn’t know how long he laid there in the shadows of the dark room- Minutes? Hours? - When his phone started vibrating on the nightstand where he put it. Reaching over, he fumbled with it for a moment before answering it, not caring to look at the name on the caller ID.

“Blake.” He answered hoarsely, his throat dry.

“Bellamy?” A timid voice asked on the other end of the line… A voice that immediately set his heart to racing and made his skin heat all over. His eyes closed as waves of pain crashed into his frantically beating heart. The hand not cradling the phone to his ear immediately came up to rub his sternum hoping to soothe the ache that just the sound of her beautiful voice inspired… Before he could though, he felt his fingers come in contact with his saint metal that was lying there over his heart. Bellamy immediately began rubbing the pendant between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the engraved words brush against the pad of his thumb.

“Hi.” He said roughly, his eyes opening as he turned to look out the windows of his bedroom…

“Hi.” She said back quietly. “How… How are you doing?” She asked hesitantly.

“Not too well.” He answered back lowly, honestly. “You?” He asked a little hopefully, both dreading and anticipating her answer.

“Not very good at all.” She whispered back. He hated how his heart simultaneously leapt and fell at her answer. He never wanted her to be sad or upset, but at the same time, he was happy that she wasn’t completely okay… In his mind, it meant he had meant more to her than just an almost relationship and that she hadn’t gotten over him. _Yet,_ His subconscious whispered, making Bellamy wince. She would eventually get over him… And reality crashed down on him. He was talking to his half-brother’s fiancée on the phone late at night.

“What do you want Clarke? Why are you calling?” He asked, his voice coming out a little gruffer and harsher than the firm voice he intended it to be.

She took a breath, as though steadying herself. “I wanted to apologize about yesterday… When I got home, I just started cleaning, because that's what I do when I worry or get anxious, and then while I was putting the dishes away, it all just kind of hit me, and I panicked. I’ve had panic attacks before and I never meant for you to ever see me have one. I’m really sorry you saw me like that and I’m sorry if I freaked you out, but I’m also really thankful to you for coming, calling Linc, and taking care of me until he got there. Um… I- Well…” She couldn’t seem to get the rest of what she wanted to say out.

“It's okay Pri-Clarke.” Bellamy said softly, catching himself. She wasn’t his princess… Not anymore. His need to comfort her is what made him speak up… God may damn him for it, along with every other depraved thing he’d done in his life, but he still loved her, and he coveted her for himself more than anything. “Lincoln and I spent the day talking… I understand things now. You don’t need to apologize or thank me…” He said trailing off.

“Oh, um, okay then…” She said, her voice low and quiet… Awkward. She was hesitant again when speaking… He couldn’t really remember a time when she had been so hesitant when speaking to him. She was normally so open and bold with him, saying her opinion or whatever else came to mind freely. “Can we- Um… Can we be friends Bellamy? Or is that not something you want? I would never hold it against you, I swear, if that's not something you want. But, I mean, we can still see each other, and go places, and just be friends... Have things go back to the way they were before essentially? Right? We-we could do that right?”

She sounded so hopeful, and desperate not to lose him… He remembered the night before when she had confessed that she needed him, and how she pleaded with him not to leave her. He was the same way… He needed her like she was air to breathe. He was just as desperate not to lose her either. While they weren't the words he wanted most to hear, they offered him a place in her life which is all he had wanted from the very beginning anyway, right? Granted he grew to want more; he could now settle for what she was offering… Couldn’t he? It was better than nothing, right?

Before he could even truly think about what he was saying, the words, “Yeah, we can be _friends._ ”, were tumbling from his mouth. The words tasted strange and bitter and oh so wrong on his tongue. It should have been a relief defining his relationship with Clarke, if it could even be called that, instead of it just all being up in the air, but he felt no relief… He felt as though he had just signed his own death warrant. He felt absolutely crushed on the inside in the wake of saying those five little words. Ignoring the pleading his heart was doing with his brain to stop the pain and just stop talking, he continued saying, “We can go out tomorrow sometime, as friends, if you want that is…” He felt resigned to his fate and unsure and awkward in the most awful way when saying that last sentence.

But he could do it… He would do it. Just be her friend that is. He would get to see her and talk to her and look at her… It wouldn’t be so bad. Hell, he’d done it before, he could do it again. It would be difficult for sure, but it wouldn’t be impossible… Besides, what was he supposed to do? Say no and cut her out of his life? He didn’t actually know if he would survive that pain, so friends it had to be…

He heard her gasp lightly on the other end of the phone, then phone being muffled into something, before her voice came back on the phone, speaking in a rush, the distinct crack of tears in her voice couldn’t be missed… “O-okay. Text me tomorrow, and I’ll meet you wherever. Goodnight Bellamy.” The two beeps in his ear signaled she’d hung up.

“Goodnight Clarke.” His whisper echoed into the empty dark room, the only person to hear it… Himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love and support... I appreciate all the people who left me comments last chapter letting me know they liked and appreciated the chapter :)  
> No idea when the next chapter will be out, but I'm well into writing the next chapter, so who knows... Positive comments on what you thought or liked most would be much appreciated though... Hint hint.   
> -Redhead17x (Come find me on Tumblr under the same name!)


	24. Fourth of July and Fireworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.  
> Warning: None.

**Chapter 24- Fourth of July and Fireworks**

"Bellamy… Bellamy? Bellamy!" Amelia called repeatedly, trying to get her grandson's attention as he sat at the island in the middle of her kitchen. She'd been so busy preparing the food that would be going on the grill outside and talking to him at the same time, that she hadn't noticed him not paying the slightest bit of attention to her… He'd been staring off dazedly out the kitchen window overlooking her garden, reverently rubbing the small metal pendant that hung from the chain around his neck between his thumb and index finger.

Bellamy jumped, startled, hearing his grandmother's loud voice calling his name. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't heard her the first couple of times she called his name. "Sorry Nonni. What was that?" He asked weakly, his dark tired eyes turning to focus on her, as he discreetly slipped his saint metal back underneath his gray t-shirt, tucking it out of sight… The weight of it against his chest was comforting.

She didn't say anything, watching him intently for a moment, before speaking softly. "You don't have to be here _Tesorino (sweetheart)_. People will understand- _I_ will understand- if you just want to go home and sleep. You look exhausted darling." She said, slowly coming around the island to where he sat and gently cupping his handsome face in her old delicate hands.

It seemed as though his face was permanently drawn and pinched with weariness and sadness these days. It had killed her to see him this past week… To see him get worse and worse, and not be able to do anything. She felt completely helpless. She'd gone and checked in on him every day since he'd left her house last Sunday. A week had passed and it was now Saturday… The Fourth of July. She had people coming for the party she put together, and while she should have been worried about making sure everything was ready for her guests, all she could seem to focus on was her severely dejected grandson. She'd monitored him the past week closely, watching as he went through denial and anger over what had happened… Now she thought he was in the depression stage.

His sweet brown eyes that she always loved looking at were now dulled and lacked the luster they once had. He had lost a bit of weight too if she had to guess, but that could just be her grandmotherly instincts which always seemed to tell her that he was too thin. The dark circles under his eyes though, couldn't be missed or mistaken for anything else than what it was… Sheer fatigue. To her, his whole demeanor screamed defeat and sorrow.

Bellamy closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side and letting his guard down for just a moment to soak in the comfort his grandmother always willingly gave him. After a good minute, Bellamy opened his eyes, and took a deep breath, steadying himself before shaking his head at his grandmother, letting her know he was staying. Changing the subject quickly to get away, Bellamy nodded to the platter of uncooked hamburgers and hotdogs, asking "Are they ready to go on the grill?"

Amelia nodded, still watching him intently, looking for any signs that said he couldn't handle the day. "Okay." Bellamy said lowly, grabbing the plate and heading outside to the awaiting grill.

Once he was out of sight, Amelia let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding… She silently closed her eyes and prayed for strength for her darling grandson. God, how he needed it. After her short silent prayer was said, she decided to get back to work, her mind going to what had happened in the past week…

_Sunday, immediately after Bellamy left, Amelia got to cooking her famous homemade chicken noodle soup. It was Bellamy, Damian, and Marcus's favorite to eat when they were sick or weren't feeling well. After packaging it all up, and sending Marcus on his merry way after a hearty breakfast, Amelia left with the soup in tow, heading right for Clarke's apartment, thinking the girl wouldn't be up to going to church that morning either._

_Upon knocking on her door, Clarke answered, looking rough. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was pale. Immediately upon seeing Amelia standing there, Clarke's eyes widened in alarm, and she began fidgeting with her sleep clothes and hair._

_"Mrs. Collins… I-I wasn't expecting you…" She stammered._

_"I know you weren't dear, and it's Amelia… We've been through this." Amelia teased warmly, breezing past the other woman into the apartment and to the kitchen. "I brought my famous chicken noodle soup. Come sit sweet girl." Amelia ordered gently._

_Clarke did as the older woman bid, sitting at her breakfast bar, and watching with trepidation as the older woman served her a bowl of soup, before turning to put the leftovers away in the fridge. To be perfectly honest, Clarke was hesitant to eat it… Surely Amelia had heard what had happened… Did Amelia hate her for what she did to her oldest grandson? She wouldn't blame Amelia if she did, and wanted to kill her for breaking her favorite grandson's heart. Why was she being so nice to her after what happened?_

_"Eat up." Amelia prodded, not liking how pale the girl was looking… As though she was about to pass out at any moment. Who knows when the last time she ate something was… Clarke took a hesitant bite of the soup, relishing in the amazing taste and warmth. "Good, right?" Amelia asked smugly, before sobering, and leaning her elbows on the counter across from Clarke. "I call it my healing soup because anytime one of my boys gets sick or aren't feeling well, I make it to help them get better. Bellamy especially. The minute there are signs of a cold coming on, I make a big pot to ward off whatever he's coming down with… The boy is an absolute nightmare when he's sick." Amelia exclaimed dramatically, making Clarke smile, a bit forcedly. It hurt to hear about him, or to even hear his name… She was still in a bit of shock after everything had happened honestly. It all had happened so quick…_

_"It will cure whatever ails you physically…" The older woman promised. "I'm just sorry it doesn't do the same for things that ail you mentally or emotionally." Clarke slowly swallowed the mouthful of soup around the sudden lump in her throat, before gingerly setting the spoon down and resting her palms on the counter top on either side of the bowl. She could only look at the bowl of soup in front of her, and not the older woman watching her reaction._

_"So you do know." She said quietly, tears coming to her eyes involuntarily, no matter how many times she wished them away._

_"Yes mia bella ragazza (my sweet girl), I know…"_

_"I'm so sorry…" Clarke interrupted, tears brimming in her eyes and dropping to the counter as they fell. "I didn't want to." She promised, still not being able to look Amelia in the eyes._

_"Shh… I know. I know." Amelia soothed quietly, reaching forward to grab the younger woman's hands and squeezing them. "It's not your fault Charlotte Clarke Griffin. I don't blame you for anything, do you hear me?" She asked firmly, squeezing her hands again to get her to look up. When blue eyes met blue, Amelia continued. "I don't blame you…" She repeated. "I commend you."_

_"What?" Clarke asked startled._

_"You did something that I don't think just anyone would do… Especially not a woman in love. What you gave up for your family's safety, agreeing to marry Finn, and taking over both families… Miele (honey), I think you are the bravest, strongest woman I have ever met." She said earnestly._

_"How can you say that?" Clarke asked tearfully, biting back a sob that fought to get free. The tears didn't stop… "How can you say that when I hurt Bellamy? I must have hurt you too. How can you be so nice and understanding of this? Of me? How can you be so calm?" Clarke asked a bit of hysteria leaking into her voice._

_"Because…" Amelia started, grabbing a napkin and coming around the breakfast bar to wipe away Clarke's tears. "Because I have faith that everything is going to work out in the end for the better. Trust me, there is a greater plan in play that absolutely none of us can see or know right now." Clarke's tears finally began to slow, as she listened to Amelia. "I need you to know that I have faith in you Clarke, to stand strong, even when everything looks like it's falling down around you. You have survived worse than this, and come out better for it, am I correct?" Amelia asked with raised eyebrows. Clarke nodded jerkily. "This too is a test that you are going to pass with flying colors, okay? I want you to know that, come hell or high waters, I am here for you. I am going to support you and get you through this. You aren't alone."_

_"Okay…" Clarke said shakily, a little of the weight on her shoulders relieved, knowing she had Amelia there for her in her corner._

_"Now, another thing… I heard what happened with your brother…" Amelia said hintingly._

_"How-" Clarke trailed off confused._

_"Bellamy… I heard about everything that happened from Bellamy last night." Amelia explained. "Your brother loves you. He wanted to protect you. He had orders from the big Boss not to say anything to you… You know he was bound to follow those orders, by the code. If you had been in his place, would you have told him?" Amelia asked knowingly._

_Clarke thought for a moment and shook her head no. She wouldn't have told him. Amelia nodded her head, "Maybe cut him some slack… It must have been extremely agonizing for him to withhold that stuff from you, with how close Bellamy tells me you both are. My suggestion is make sure he grovels and learns his lesson to never to lie again, but ultimately forgive him, because we're all human, and you know as well as I do that a tomorrow isn't guaranteed in this life. You're going to need him too, for what's going to happen, and holding grudges isn't healthy. Yes?" Amelia asked. Clarke nodded, knowing the older woman was right._

_"Good… Now, I must get going, but I'll be stopping in a couple times this week to check on you, and I expect you to be at the Fourth of July party on Saturday, yes?" Amelia, asked with raised eyebrows, daring the other woman to say no._

_Clarke smiled a nervous shy smile. "I'll be there. Promise."_

_Amelia beamed. "Great! Don't forget to bring your neighbors and co-workers too. The more the merrier!" She exclaimed, before gathering her things and heading for the door with Clarke right behind her. Before Amelia opened the door, she turned and hugged Clarke close saying, "Even though you're marrying the wrong grandson, I am so overjoyed I still get you to be my granddaughter. No matter what happens, you will always be my honorary granddaughter, and I love you as such. From now on, I want you to call me Nonni, yes?" She asked, pulling back to gaze at the younger girl's face. She had more tears in her eyes, but Amelia knew they were happy emotional tears._

_Clarke nodded her head, smiling through the tears, saying "I love you too Nonni. Thank you… For everything."_

_Amelia smiled, overjoyed at the younger girl's words, and hugged her again before leaving._

_She visited Clarke three times that week, once on Monday, once on Tuesday, and once on Thursday, all three times they had lunch in the hospital seeing as how Clarke was working. There was a noticeable shift in Clarke after Monday… She became withdrawn, and even more sad and distraught if that could be humanly possible. Amelia didn't think it had to do with Clarke's brother who had to leave Monday morning either, because Clarke said they had made up, and were working on healing their relationship from the whole mess. Amelia would have shrugged her worsening behavior off as the shock wearing off and the reality of the situation setting in, except, Bellamy did the same thing._

_On Monday morning, Amelia visited Bellamy at his office, bringing him breakfast before she went to visit Clarke for lunch… She had an inkling he might have skipped the meal, and she'd been right. Bellamy had been calm, maybe a little melancholy, but it looked to be manageable she thought. Looking back, Amelia could see that had been the denial. Tuesday was a completely different Bellamy from the day before. This Bellamy was aggravated, easily annoyed, and quick to snap at people… He was irritated with everything. He knew better than to be like that with her of course… She would have torn him a new one with his own belt, heartbroken and a 28-year-old man or not. His secretary on the other hand was brought to tears at least twice during Amelia's visit. Wednesday's visit was the same, and then the dreaded Thursday came around where instead of Angry Bellamy, she had Detached Bellamy. Her whole visit he hardly looked at her, instead staring out the windows of his office or at his mysterious chain and pendant which was clutched in one of his hands. He would occasionally nod or hum along to whatever she said, but he hardly showed the slightest bit of interest in anything around him other than the necklace… That said something because Bellamy always threw himself into his work when things got rough. He loved his work… He found solace in his work, but not this time around it seemed._

_He'd been like that ever since then… What she found strange was that her grandson always had that necklace with him. Where he got it or what it was, she had no idea… He never let her get close enough to see it, but it was always either around his neck, or clutched in his hand. Amelia eventually called Marcus on Friday to see what had been going on, because something was obviously going on, other than what had gone down at the meeting on Saturday._

_Marcus told her that Damian had been giving Bellamy a hard time, meaning more work, in the hopes Bellamy would crack and let Damian back in as a father and not just a boss… He was 'trying to give the boy a taste of what it would be like from then on to work for him as just a boss, and not a father too'. Bellamy had been called out just about every night on Family business. Damian's plan had been to work Bellamy so hard he came crawling back to Damian asking forgiveness for overreacting and making, what Damian viewed as, a rash decision to disown his father. Damian was trying to prove he did control Bellamy, and that Damian wouldn't let Bellamy just cast him out of his life so easily… Not without one hell of a fight at least. Bellamy hadn't cracked though, if anything, he shined when put under that pressure, not complaining or breaking under the weight. Although Amelia had been even more furious with Damian's underhanded attempts to sway Bellamy back to him, she didn't say anything or step in, knowing Bellamy would be cross with her if she did. Besides, she still wasn't talking with Damian. Granted, she would step in and have words with her only son, if she had to, but she figured as long as Bellamy could handle it, she could let him continue._

The loud knocking and obnoxious ringing of the doorbell drew Amelia from the memory of the week she had gained a new granddaughter, and watched as her grandson slowly began to slip away. Looking at the clock and seeing it was 12:30, Amelia had a sneaking suspicion who was at her door… Guests weren't supposed to show up until one o'clock, when the party officially started, so that only left her surrogate grandsons to show up 30 minute early. Sure enough, the loud booming voices of eight fully grown man children filled her foray and echoed through her house as Gertrude finally got to the door to answer it. Only seconds later, her kitchen was filled with all her grandson's friends, giving her hugs and kisses on the cheek, greeting her, asking how she was doing, asking where Bellamy was, and asking when the food would be ready… All at the same time. Amelia couldn't deny that all their energy and overall happy-go-lucky attitudes made her feel 20 years younger and lighter. She hoped that some of that exuberance and happiness rubbed off on Bellamy.

After the greetings and swatting several pairs of fingers trying to grab bites of food, Amelia bid them all go outside and enjoy the pool, which they were all dressed and equipped for… Swimming trunks, sunglasses, giant T-Rex ride-on floaty and all.

Amelia went back to work on the coleslaw, wanting all the food to be ready by the time her guests got there, knowing they'd all probably be hungry, so they could eat right away. Fifteen minutes later, amidst the laughter, yells, and splashing coming from the pool in the backyard, the doorbell rang twice. Another guest was early. A few moments later, Gertrude ushered Clarke and another woman with a small child in her arms into the room. The woman had dark hair and pale skin, and the child was almost a miniature of her mother. The little girl was wearing a white t-shirt with a cute little white, blue, and red tutu over her jean shorts. Brushing her hands off, Amelia walked over greeting the strange woman with a smile.

"Hello, my name's Amelia Collins. You must be Maya." She said shaking the woman's hand, and getting a warm smile in return.

"Yes Ma'am, thank you so much for having us today. You have a lovely home." Maya gushed sincerely.

"Why thank you dear… And who do we have here?" Amelia asked peeking at the little girl she was holding.

"I'm Alison…" The little girl said with a smile before turning serious and stating, "I'm four." Holding up four fingers as if to prove her statement was true.

"That's fantastic!" Amelia exclaimed, "Because I have a rule that people only four and older can play in the pool." Amelia said playfully, making the little girl's eyes widen, before she squealed and turned to her mother stating excitedly, "Did you hear that mommy! I can get in the pool! Can I go now? Pease, pease, peeeeaassseeee?" Alison begged, making Amelia chuckle.

Maya looked to be at a loss, so Amelia stepped in stating, "Gertrude will show you to a bathroom so you can get changed… I assume you both brought swimsuits, right?" Amelia checked. Maya nodded, said her thanks, and followed Gertrude out of the room.

Finally, Amelia turned to the person she most wanted to see. Clarke was standing by the counter, her hands empty of the bowl she had carried in, which was now sitting on the counter. She was fidgeting a bit, as though unsure what to do or say. Amelia walked over and gave the girl a once over, deciding she was too thin for her liking. Clarke gave her a small timid smile in greeting, the very same one Amelia had gotten all week.

"Come here _mia dolce ragazza (my sweet girl)_ …" Amelia murmured softly, pulling Clarke into a tight hug, which she returned just as ardently, practically collapsing into the older woman's arms. Amelia found that Clarke loved to show affection and have affection shown to her… It was almost like she was deprived of a womanly presence in her life. When Clarke gave a squeeze, and pulled back to reveal eyes swimming in tears, Amelia was quick to grab a napkin so she could blot them away before they fell. "Shh… What is it?" Amelia asked, brushing some of the younger woman's golden blonde hair behind her ear to get a better glimpse of her face.

Clarke's lips twitched into a semblance of a smile, but fell short, turning into a grimace, as she looked down, admitting lowly, as though embarrassed to say it out loud, "I miss him… I don't know if I can see him, without breaking down. I think I should just go, I don't want to upset him, or let him see I'm upset."

"Hey, hey, hey…" Amelia said bringing her hands up to cup Clarke's face, to ensure she was looking at her. "It's going to be alright, I promise. You both need a day of being around friends and family, and fun and laughter. It might hurt, but maybe today will help or at least start you on the road of healing and accepting the future. No tears today, okay?" Amelia said, brushing her fingers in a soothing motion, calming Clarke down from deciding to leave. Quite honestly, Amelia was doing this to get them both in a room so she could judge how bad things were for the both of them.

"Now," Amelia started in a bright voice, "What is in this bowl?" she said looking over at it.

Clarke grinned and took the plastic cover off revealing that the bowl was filled to the brim with potato salad.

"Goodness, this looks so good." Amelia said genuinely as Clarke handed her the cover. "You know you didn't have to bring anything, but I'm glad you did… It saves me from having to do it." Both women grinned at each other, unknowingly working in tandem.

"I've got some pies in my car that I need to go get too. I'll be right back." Clarke said before leaving the room.

Amelia put the cover back on the bowl and put it in the refrigerator before quickly finishing her coleslaw and putting that in there next to the potato salad. Bellamy walked into the kitchen with all the grilled meats.

"Well, would you look at that…" Amelia teased. "It's not all burnt to the point of being charcoal."

Bellamy grinned his first genuine smile all week at his grandmother's lighthearted teasing and said, "I can't cook well in a kitchen… Doesn't mean I can't grill like a pro." Amelia laughed.

At that moment Clarke came back into the room balancing four white boxes in her arms. Upon seeing her, Bellamy's smile slipped from his face, and this look of intense longing and pain crossed his face before he seemed to recover, his face settling on a blank expression devoid of all emotion. When she looked up and spotted Bellamy in the kitchen, Clarke froze.

Amelia swore they didn't move for a full minute, just staring at each other, drinking in each other's appearance and basking in the other person's presence. Amelia quietly and delicately cleared her throat, snapping them both out of the haze they had been in. Clarke looked down and blushed while Bellamy continued staring at her for a moment before ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck in an anxious gesture.

"Here Clarke, you can put those over here." Amelia said gesturing to some clear counter space.

That seemed to snap Bellamy into action as he walked over and gently took the boxes from her arms and put them where his grandmother had indicated. Thankfully, before things could become even more awkward than they already were, Alison and Maya came back into the room. Maya had on shorts and a shirt over her bathing suit while Alison was in a pink one piece with frills around the waist… Amelia was sensing a theme with the little girl.

Upon spotting Bellamy, the little girl squealed loudly, running over to him, exclaiming, "Bellamy! You're hewe!" Holding her arms up for him to pick her up.

"Hey there squirt." Bellamy said smiling and indulging the little girl's demands to be held, picking her up.

"Did you know cuz I'm four…" Alison held up four fingers again. "I can go swimming in the pool! Ima swim 'round like a fish!" She said cutely, throwing her hands in the air in excitement.

"Oh really?" Bellamy said with mock surprise. "Well we better get you in some water then huh little fish…" Alison nodded her head vigorously.

"You gonna come in too?" Alison asked looking at him with her eyes wide and questioning.

"Yeah, sure kiddo. I can show you both outside…" Bellamy said to Maya who nodded and smiled gratefully… With one last side glance at Clarke, Bellamy turned and left the room with the little girl in his arms chattering away excitedly, and her mother following.

"Well..." Amelia said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get the dining room set up buffet style, because when those boys and the little ballerina come in, they're going to be hungry monsters, I'm sure of it."

As they set things up, more and more people showed up, causing Amelia to go into full on hostess mode. Even though she was focused on greeting guests, Amelia didn't miss how Clarke's eyes always seemed to travel to the pool in the backyard where the boys were all playing some type of game it looked like with Bellamy and Alison as the referees… The little girl was sitting on his shoulders, a pair of orange floaties on her arms and what looked like Jasper's goggles perched on her little head. They were obviously too big for her as they kept slipping down, but she didn't seem to mind.

Maya looked to be having fun watching from one of the patio chairs, laughing at her daughter's squeals of delight, every time one of the boys did something funny or splashed each other. Eventually when Emori and Katie arrived, having drove together, they too joined in the pool. After some insisting, Amelia convinced Clarke to go outside too and spend some time out there… She ended up sitting with Maya, and the two women watched the people in the pool and talked, occasionally laughing. The sight of both Clarke and Bellamy smiling and laughing, what looked to be genuinely, while spending time amongst friends, warmed Amelia's heart more than she could say… She silently prayed it lasted longer than just the day.

Amelia had her dear close friend Margaret show up with her husband, William, and her neighbors, Daniel and Claire. The only person she was missing now was Beatrice 'Bea' Taylor, who was a close friend from church. Marcus of course would inevitably amble in late… Amelia wondered if Damian would attempt to keep him away from her house this year. Vanessa always threw a boring stuffy Fourth of July party at their house, and after the first year, Amelia vowed never to attend another awful party with women so plastic they squeaked when they moved and men who were quite possibly actual human chimneys with the way they smoked their cigars. Even more so after Bellamy came into the picture was Amelia grateful to have her own holiday tradition that the boy could join in on, seeing as how he wasn't necessarily welcome at their house… Marcus naturally went wherever Bellamy went, so he became a more integral part of their holiday together also.

As Amelia was sitting in the family room, chatting with Margaret and Claire while watching all the young people out in the pool area, she heard the doorbell ring and decided to answer it personally. After waving Gertrude off, Amelia opened the door with a smile ready to greet her friend or Marcus, only for said smile to falter for a brief moment… There was Bea, _and_ her grandson Anson. _Oh dear Lord…_ Amelia thought with a bit of panic.

"Bea!" She said, making sure her voice stayed level and her panic didn't show on her face, before hugging the other lady.

"Hi Amelia…" Bea greeted warmly, returning the brief hug. "I'm so sorry, but my grandson showed up in town last minute… I hope it was okay that I brought him…" She said uncertainly.

"Yes, of course." Amelia fibbed. "The more the merrier. Come on in."

After ushering them in, Amelia decided she needed to do damage control. Excusing herself for just a moment, she quickly walked outside and told everyone that it was time to eat and to get dried off. Everyone slowly began climbing out of the pool and heading for towels… Little Alison was promptly handed over by Monty to Maya so she could get all dried off. Bellamy being the farthest from the steps, was the last to climb out. The minute he was out and she was sure no one was paying her any attention, Amelia caught his attention and frantically, but discreetly, began to wave him over.

"What's going on Nonni?" Bellamy asked in a normal voice as he walked over to her.

"Shhh…" She shushed, taking a quick look around to ensure no one heard him. When no one seemed to notice them, she quickly told him about Anson being with Bea. As Amelia watched her grandson's face darken upon hearing the news, Amelia feared her using Anson's name last Thursday night to bait Bellamy into realizing his feelings for Clarke, _may_ have caused some hostile feelings on Bellamy's part toward the innocent man. In her defense though, Amelia had fully intended for Clarke and Bellamy to be together before Anson ever crossed paths with either Bellamy or Clarke… If that ever even happened. How was she supposed to know her son would ruin, literally, everything? Oh, and now it was all coming back to bite her in the butt. _This was not going to be pretty…_ She thought, internally wincing.

"Did you invite him?" Bellamy gritted out looking away from his grandmother toward Clarke who was sitting up in a lounge chair with her legs crossed. Maya had plopped down on the foot of the chair with Alison between the two women, as Clarke dried and braided the little girl's hair, while Maya was making faces at her daughter causing both her and Clarke laugh.

"No." Amelia was quick to reassure, hoping that would help. It didn't. Bellamy's dark look remained as he nodded once and turned, walking over to Miller and muttering something to the man who had been staring at Katie from across the patio. Miller's face dropped at whatever Bellamy said, before nodding and going to tell Antonio, Diego, Lucca, Romeo, and Monty, who all got the same serious, yet loathing face, which was something Amelia didn't understand. How could they _all_ not like him? Loyalty maybe? Boys… Who knew with them…

Murphy, it appeared, had separated from the group and was trying to lay the charm on thick for Miss Emori… A small smile twitched at Amelia's lips as the other woman seemed unimpressed by the man's charm. As she watched, Murphy said something that had Emori's face softening just a tad, hardly noticeable really, before the corners of her mouth turned up in a grudging almost smile. _Good…_ Amelia thought. _The boy needs to be taken down a peg. I hope she makes him work for it._

Clarke got up and lifted Alison into her arms, as the little girl was chattering away to her, and began to walk around the pool towards Amelia, who was standing by the door that led inside… As she passed by, she said a quiet, "The rest are coming…" with a small smile.

Like Clarke said, not a minute later, the rest of the girls were walking towards her, their hands full of drinks, cover clothes, and bottles of sunscreen. Amelia made sure to tell them all where the bathrooms and guest bedrooms were if they wanted to get changed before starting to eat the delicious lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and homemade French fries. Amelia didn't miss the quick glance Maya threw at Jasper across the pool, as she walked inside, her cheeks red. The man in question was looking positively smug and proud, sitting in a lounge chair next to the one Maya, Alison, and Clarke had just been sitting in. Amelia wondered what that was all about…

It seemed that word had spread amongst all the boys now, and Murphy was the last to be told. Jasper didn't seem to really care all that much, as inferred by his cool shrug and unchanging happy expression from before. Murphy on the other hand looked absolutely irate, exclaiming loudly, "What?!" and then a bit quieter, but still audible to Amelia's ears. "Of fucking course… Stupid Anson fucking Taylor. That dick!"

Bellamy said some more words to him, quietly, and as Murphy nodded along, he seemed to calm some… It was interesting to watch the power Bellamy had over his guys, Murphy especially, who was like a live wire most of the time. After one more final head nod, Bellamy clapped Murphy on the shoulder and walked over to where he'd put his T-shirt and necklace, slipping both on before drying his black board shorts off with a towel and walking over saying, "It's all good." With a blank expression that hindered Amelia from determining whether or not he was lying. She nodded, not wanting to push him any further, and turned, walking inside.

For the rest of the afternoon, Amelia played the perfect hostess, ensuring her guest's comfort, and keeping an eye on Bellamy and his boys to make sure they didn't kidnap Anson and kill him in the woods or something drastic. With their barely contained hostility, she wouldn't have doubted they would have done it given the opportunity. Anson was an absolute hit with everyone it seemed… Well, okay, not everyone. He was a hit with all the women, and that further worsened the mood for all the boys it seemed.

Daniel and William could have cared less, off in their own little world talking sports and politics after lunch… They dragged Bellamy into their talks as well, and asked him how business was going and such. Bellamy did seem interested for the most part, both men having been CEOs in their younger days but were both now retired. Then again, Amelia muse, Bellamy can fake a conversation and interest with the best of them, so she couldn't really tell what was going on… All she knew was he watched Clarke intently for the rest of the afternoon, tracking her movement and the conversations she had with different people. He was discreet for the most part, but not discreet enough that his dear old Nonni couldn't see what he was doing… She did, after all, know him better than just about anyone.

Anson was polite and friendly to everyone, even the boys, and seemed to have a lot to talk about with Emori and Maya, as he talked to them both more than anyone. Things got a little tense for a moment when Jasper and Murphy had to be dragged from the room under the guise of 'doing dishes' to get them to both calm some… Seemed they both had some sort of crushes on Emori and Maya, which Amelia found adorable, and did not like Anson taking all the girls' attention. Sweet Alison though, defused the situation perfectly stating how she 'really, really, realllyyy wanted some of the apple pie her and Clarky made'. _Bless that sweet girl…_ Was all Amelia could think, before she jumped in saying they had to cook dinner first before dessert, and asked the little girl and all the women if they'd like to help her in the kitchen.

When Amelia said that, Bea and Anson admitted to having to leave… Anson's _girlfriend_ wanted him and Bea to come over to meet her family. The breath of relief the guys seemed to let out was practically audible… Amelia too let out a relieved breath, but for completely different reasons. She certainly had no clue about Anson having a girlfriend… To say she was shocked was an understatement. Amelia made sure to walk the Taylors out and wish them a happy holiday. After that, the atmosphere lightened considerably for everyone… Everyone save for Clarke and Bellamy that is.

All the women converged in the kitchen talking and laughing, while gathering everything for dinner… Alison was an absolute hoot, entertaining all the older women with her stories and thoughts. Of course, the minute the women didn't need them any more Daniel and William along with Bellamy and his guys all descended upon Amelia's large den, equipped with a massive flat screen television, to watch the Rays vs Yankees game Bellamy had recorded earlier that afternoon. When it came time, Bellamy grilled the ribs and chicken for dinner.

During dinner, everyone raved at how amazing everything tasted. Amelia was amazed with the potato salad and practically begged Clarke to give her the recipe, which she immediately agreed to… There wasn't a single bite of it left with the way all the boys gobbled it up. She swore things got so tense for the last bit of it, that for a moment she worried they were going to fight for it… Of course, cute little Alison solved that tense problem too by sweetly walking up to Jasper and asking for more potato salad. The guys all started tripping over themselves to get her the remaining scoop full of the yellow-y goodness. The pies were a big hit too… Amelia was grateful to have remembered to add vanilla ice cream to the grocery list.

After dinner was over, they all loaded up in cars to go see the community fireworks display in Rowayton, an affluent coastal village within Norwalk about 20 minutes away. They were holding a massive firework display from the beach, and considering Stamford had their firework display the day before, Amelia thought this was the perfect alternative. While waiting for the fireworks to begin, Amelia talked with Margaret, Daniel, Claire, and William, who were all going to leave after the show was over. They all gushed how much they loved Amelia's annual little parties, but how this year was particularly great. They chalked it up to all great company the younger people they met at her house provided… Amelia was quick to joke that they all kept her young.

Speaking of younger people, Amelia took a quick peek over to the blankets and towels not too far away, where Bellamy's guys, Emori, Katie, Maya, and Allison were all sitting. What Amelia found so interesting however was the way Miller and Katie were on the edge of the group, huddled together whispering to each other, and Emori was keeping most of everyone else, including Murphy, distracted and entertained with some story that must have been good if the hand movements she was making and the complete interest the guys were showing were any indicators. Lastly, Amelia noticed Jasper, Maya, Alison, and Monty all grouped together… Amelia's heart tightened in her chest to see Alison sitting in Jasper's lap, playing patty-cake together, while Monty and Maya looked on at them both, talking to each other. As Amelia watched, Jasper messed up, purposely from the looks of it, only to have the little girl laugh at his blunder. Jasper started tickling her in response to her laughing at him until she was out of breath and begged him to stop, which he promptly did, and demanded another game.

Looking back over the group, she noticed two people missing… Amelia began searching amongst the large number of people at the beach for a familiar head of blonde or black hair. The lighting on the beach was dim, but the older woman's eyesight was keen, and she spotted them down the beach a ways, by the water. Amelia watched them closely, wondering if they had wandered off together, or if one had followed the other… They were walking side by side, slowly, both looking as though they took great steps not to touch the other. They couldn't seem to look at each other fully either, always stealing glances when the other wasn't looking, and quickly looking away if caught. Occasionally their mouths would move, as if they were saying something, and others times, one would open their mouth as if to say something but held back, deciding not to actually say it. The way they acted was tense and edgy, as if they didn't know what to do, which absolutely broke Amelia's heart, because they had always had this easy going, relaxed air about them. Every time she had seen them together, they acted as if they had known each other intimately for years, and had been friends for even longer than that. Now they acted as if they were both two strangers, forced to go on some type of date set up by a mutual friend. Hell, she _had_ set them up to go on a date, and she doubted they acted like this. The damage was worse than she thought… They weren't going to be able to do this, and she had no idea what any of them were going to do.

They eventually came back, choosing to sit together, but as far as they possibly could without getting strange looks, and the fireworks show began. The loud bangs that came from the exploding lights upset poor little Alison, who cried and covered her ears, burying her head in Jasper's chest, as Maya ran her hands through her daughter hair trying to sooth and calm her. Amelia was glad she had the foresight to bring ear muffs, and quickly rummaged through her bag pulling them out and handing them to Monty who passed them along to the person they were intended for. After they were secured on the little girl, her tears dried up, and she was able to watch as the beautiful colors lit up the night sky.

The show lasted for about 20 to 25 minutes… Amelia grew bored after the first ten minutes and took to watching Clarke and Bellamy instead, who seemed to have also grown bored of the fireworks and were now unabashedly staring at one another. The intense emotion and longing that could be felt between them, made Amelia's already broken heart shatter into a billion little pieces. They loved each other… It was clear as day on their faces, and they were torn apart by their families… How Shakespearian, and undeniably tragic. Her heart went out to the both of them, for what had been done to them. The looks they had on their faces… The tenderness on his face and adoration on hers, made Amelia look away, feeling as though she was intruding on a private moment.

After the show concluded and people began leaving, Amelia said goodbye to her dear friends, promising to see them the next day at church. Amelia offered for everyone else to come back to her house, and they all agreed… Some had to get their cars anyway. Once again, Amelia found herself in the kitchen with Clarke, Maya, Emori, and Katie, this time enjoying glasses of wine while cleaning up a bit even though Amelia insisted they didn't have to… Alison had surprisingly opted to play video games with the boys, to the amusement of everyone.

"So what's the deal with you and Murphy?" Clarke asked Emori, while snapping on the lids to the Tupperware containers of food, and turning to put them in the fridge.

Emori, who had just finished wiping the counters down, threw the wipe away and took a sip of her wine, before saying, "He wants to go out." She rolled her eyes. "I said no naturally… He's hot and all, especially with that whole bad boy vibe he's got going for him, but he seems like a real flirt. You know after what happened with Jamie I want a true real relationship. Besides, how can he want to go out with me, yet not let his sister, who is only a few years younger than me, not go out with Miller. I told him the minute he lets them go out, I'd _consider_ accepting his date request. I don't do double standards, like, at all. Anyway, he didn't seem too happy with that, but whatever… Tough luck, ya know?"

"Thanks for that." Katie said from the sink, wiping down the last of the dishes that Maya handed her after washing them down, before Amelia put them away in the right cabinet. "Thanks for distracting him earlier too. It was nice to actually talk to Miller without my brother glaring at us and dragging me away for some stupid reason."

"Yeah, I saw that." Emori commented offhandedly, sipping from her glass. "That's why I distracted him. Boys are stupid."

Maya cleared her throat timidly, not looking up to the room as she pretended to be thoroughly engrossed in drying her hands off, before stating quietly. "Jasper seems nice."

The whole kitchen froze before there were loud squeals of excitement and they all immediately began clambering for information. Seeing as how everything was clean, they all stood or sat on bar stools around the clean kitchen island with their full glasses and the bottles of wine in the middle in case anyone ran low.

"What happened?" Clarke asked leaning over the counter, happiness shining in her eyes for her friend. Clarke had admitted to Amelia earlier in the afternoon that she worried Maya would feel left out seeing as how she was the only one who didn't really know everyone… She only knew Clarke and the two quick times she met Bellamy. Amelia kept an eye on her, and from the looks of things, Clarke had nothing to worry about because both Alison and Maya had been welcomed warmly into the fold. Amelia, Emori, and Katie had a lot of fun getting to know Maya, and they all thought her little girl was the most adorable thing they had ever seen.

"Umm… Nothing really." She said blushing. "He was just really nice is all, and he's great with Alison."

Amelia chuckled, drawing four pairs of eyes to her, "That's because he's almost a child himself. I don't doubt they get along amazingly." Three heads nodding along with the older woman's observation.

"Jasper is a really sweet guy though." Katie said of her brother's friend. "He and Monty are almost a package deal though. Bellamy calls them the twins because they're pretty much attached to the hip. He's definitely a goofball, but he can be serious when the situation calls for it." Maya nodded, her wide eyes taking in every bit of information.

"I think he likes you." Clarke said bluntly, finishing off her first glass of wine. Amelia immediately refilled it. It seemed with every sip, Clarke got a little bolder and lost her filter…

"I think he does too." Katie said. "I think he'll ask you out, but I have no idea when. Jasper's really shy about this stuff. All the other guys are pretty blunt about… Well, everything, but not Jasper. Or Monty for that matter, but we're not talking about him. Any who, if you like him, you're gonna have to be patient."

"I don't know if I can get in another relationship after how badly the last one ended." Maya said sadly, looking down. Amelia wondered how badly it ended and what happened prior to it ending.

"How bad are we talking?" Emori asked bluntly, making Clarke nudge her, throwing her a look that said that wasn't a proper thing to be asking.

"Umm… He's in jail? I have restraining order, and I had his parental rights revoked. He'll be getting out next February…" Maya said quietly.

"Damn." Emori whispered, and Amelia wholeheartedly agreed.

Maya nodded, slowly. "I don't know what I'm going to do when he gets out… I don't know how he's going to act or what he's going to do. I don't think it would be right to start a relationship with a really sweet caring guy, only for him to have to endure the drama I'm sure that will follow when my abusive ex-boyfriend gets out."

Amelia and Clarke shared a look that said everything, before Amelia spoke. "I think you should cross that bridge when you come to it. In the meantime, don't let that bastard rule your life and prevent you from doing things. It only gives him more power, and you my dear are a strong independent woman, who can make choices for herself." Amelia stated wisely. "You have done amazing things with that little girl in there, and I can see how much you love her." She said pointing in the direction of the den. "You're an amazing mother, but it's time you do some things that make you happy too, yes?" Amelia asked with a warm smile, which was returned by Maya.

"Yes Ma'am." She said.

"Great!" Katie exclaimed. "So when Jasper asks you out, ignore all the awkward things he'll say, and the stuttering and stammering, and say yes! I promise it'll be worth it."

"Okay." Maya said beaming happily, excited that for once something good happening for her. She just really hoped things would work out, and that Jasper _would_ actually ask her out.

"Hey, what about you Griffin?" Emori asked. "What's going on with you and Blake?"

Clarke had just taken a sip of wine and choked upon hearing Emori's second question. After her coughing fit was over and she'd sufficiently cleared her throat, she sighed deeply, and looked away sadly, probably having no idea what to tell her friends if Amelia had to guess. What was the younger woman to say? _'I love him, but my crime family gave me away to another man because they're in a crime war with another country over territory, and now we can't be together, only friends'_? Yeah, that would go over extremely well, considering Emori and Maya didn't know anything about any of that and Katie only knew what her brother was involved in, just no specifics or details. "We're _friends_." She said eventually, taking another gulp from her glass, most likely needing the liquid courage.

"Really?" Katie asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yup." Clarke said resolutely, with a hint of bitterness coloring her tone that Amelia was sure she was the only one to catch. She swirled the last little sip of her wine in the bottom of the glass, before drinking it and setting the glass down on the bar in front of her. Clarke stood from the bar stool and said calmly, "If you ladies will excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Before Clarke could move or leave the room though, Maya stood too saying, "Yeah, I've gotta get Alison home and in bed… It is way past her bedtime."

"Us too… I've got a shift tomorrow morning." Katie said drinking the rest of a glass of water that she had been nursing after her one glass of wine. Maya had only taken two or three sips out of her glass, so Amelia knew they were both safe to drive, seeing as how Emori had ridden with Katie.

Clarke said goodbye to everyone before disappearing from the kitchen, supposedly to find a bathroom. Amelia hugged Katie and Emori goodbye at her front door, both thanking the older woman profusely for having them both over for the holiday and exclaiming how much fun they had. Once they both were in the car safely and driving away, she went in search of Maya, and found her in the kitchen washing the wine glasses.

"Oh dear, you didn't have to do that." Amelia said, touched with the other woman's thoughtfulness.

Maya startled a little, as smiled shyly. "It was the least I could do after everything you did for us today… Having us over, including us in the festivities, and feeding us. Alison and I haven't had a day like this in years." She said timidly as she wiped the last glass and set it on the counter to be put away by Amelia later, seeing as how she didn't quite know where they went. The younger woman's words brought tears to Amelia's eyes, and she immediately hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much." She whispered to Amelia.

"You are so welcome." Amelia said pulling away, "I want you to bring that little girl over to see me some time and make an old woman's day a bit brighter, hmm?" Amelia teased, making Maya laugh and nod her head.

Amelia gave Maya her number and made her promise to call if she ever needed anything, and to maybe stop by her church one morning for a service if she could work it around her work schedule. As they walked into the den, the sight that met them was both comical and cute. All the boys, but one, were sprawled around the room, either on the couch, in a chair, or on the floor, sleeping. The TV was on in the background on some child's channel, playing some show about kids in a rocket ship. It looked like the guys had given up, surely violent, video games to watch a kid friendly program for Alison. The person in question was curled up fast asleep on a sleeping Jasper's chest. He by far took up most of the couch, sprawled out like he was, except for one arm that he had wrapped around the slumbering little girl holding her securely against his chest, so she didn't fall to the floor.

As Maya snuck over to take a picture with her phone, Amelia scanned the room once more, confirming someone's absence… Bellamy. He was strangely missing… Where could he have wandered off too? Amelia's attention was drawn from her inner musings to Maya gently waking Jasper up, after unsuccessfully trying to slip Alison from his arms, which only caused him to tighten his hold on her and cuddle her closer to him. After a few more attempts at rousing him, she finally succeeded in waking him up. They spoke a couple words quietly that she couldn't hear and he gently stood, with Alison still in his arms, and walked over to Nonni with Maya following behind him.

When he reached the older woman, he spoke quietly, "I'll walk them out Nonni, okay?" Amelia nodded and smiled at him brightly, understanding he wanted some alone time with Maya.

"You boys are going to stay here tonight, right?" She asked him, looking to all the other slumbering men, most of whom were snoring loudly. It was a miracle that sweet Alison could sleep with so much noise.

"Yes, if you don't mind." Jasper said sheepishly.

"Of course not dear." Amelia said with a wave of her hand. "Maya, you and Alison are more than welcome to stay the night too darling, if you don't want to drive all the way home. I have a guest room ready upstairs that you both could sleep in and you could both leave tomorrow after breakfast…"

"Thank you Amelia for the offer," Maya said with a smile, "but I've got to run some errands tomorrow morning and afternoon before I go in for my night shift tomorrow night."

"Okay…" Amelia acquiesced. "Just drive safely, and get you and that dear little one home in one piece, yes?"

"Yes ma'am." She said before giving the older woman a hug. Amelia gave Alison a quick little kiss on the cheek as she slept away in Jasper's arms, and then the three were gone out the front door.

Amelia busied herself gathering blankets and pillows and getting all the guys sleeping in her den squared away for the night. Once she was sure they were all comfortable, Amelia went in search of Clarke, who had yet to reappear after leaving for the bathroom. Amelia was sure she hadn't gotten lost. Bellamy too was missing, and had Amelia been a betting woman, she would have been inclined to say they were probably both together somewhere.

After checking the kitchen, hallways, formal sitting room, great room, and all the bathrooms on the first floor, Amelia was positively stumped. She knew they wouldn't be in the den with all the other guys because she had just come from there, and Clarke's car was still out front in the driveway so she hadn't left yet… Bellamy had told her earlier that he wasn't staying the night, so she doubted he'd be in his room. As she was making her way back to the kitchen and passing through the dining room, she caught movement from across the pool in her solarium which was barely lit… Taking that clue and running with it, Amelia made her way to that portion of her house. She hadn't even thought to look there, but that made perfect sense, seeing as how the solarium had undeniably been Clarke's favorite room in the house when Amelia had given the younger woman a tour so many weeks ago, when Bellamy had first brought her over for dinner.

Stopping silently, just shy of the door, Amelia leaned against the wall, and waited with baited breath to see what was going on and what was being said… One beat… Two beats… Three…

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing was being said, and no movement was heard. After a moment of pure silence Amelia's impatience got the best of her… She didn't even know if they were in the room for Pete's sake! Slowly, Amelia peered around the corner into the darkened room. They were definitely in there, and the air was tense if the set of both their shoulders indicated anything.

Bellamy was sitting on the edge of the ottoman in front of Amelia's favorite chair at an angle away from her and the door, but to a degree to where she could still see him clearly, but not be in his eye sight or even his peripheral vision. His elbows were resting on his spread knees, and his hands hung limply in the air between them, as he watched Clarke. The woman in question was lingering in the open doors that led outside, with her back turned away from him and the door, as she stared out to the lit-up yard and pool. Amelia had fairy lights that decorated and lit up her trees, gardens, and yard. They hung from everywhere, and gave the whole area an intimate, soft yellow glow. The lights from outside were the only thing lighting up the room, and so shadows moved amongst them as they both moved and breathed. Quite honestly, there were more than just physical shadows that lingered in the room, and it could be felt.

Amelia jumped as Clarke spoke, not having heard anything in such a seemingly long period of time, that the sound of the younger woman's voice startled her. "What are you doing Bellamy?" Clarke asked wearily. She didn't turn to look at him, and he didn't make any move to stand up… He didn't make any move at all actually, not even a flinch after having the silence broken. It was obvious to Amelia that these were the first words spoken since they had entered one another's presence. Amelia was curious for the answer to Clarke's question.

It took a moment, but Bellamy cleared his throat and spoke lowly saying, "I was wondering how you were… We haven't really talked or seen each other in a while, and I-" He abruptly cut himself off, but Amelia could still hear the unspoken words linger in the air. _I miss you._ The older woman bet Clarke could hear them too, but if she did, she gave no hint or clue of it.

"You don't want to know how I'm doing." The younger woman said shaking her head, her back still turned away from him. She lifted a hand to run through her messy blonde curls, throwing them over her shoulder. "And us not talking, is not on me. I've called and texted… I've tried to communicate with you. You didn't pick up or respond, so I'm not quite sure what you want me to say…" She said with a hint of irritation coloring her tone as she turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. Amelia was still hidden thankfully, and could see the whole thing.

Bellamy didn't say anything and gave no hint of speaking up for himself… He just continued watching Clarke, so she continued. "What was I supposed to do instead huh? Show up at your work, or your house… I don't even know where you live. What did you want me to do?" She asked, looking at him expectantly, as though he would give her an actual answer. After he still didn't say anything, Clarke dropped her head, shaking it. She took a deep breath, before running her hands over her face wearily. Amelia noticed Clarke started to sway a little unsteadily where she stood.

Before anything else could be said, Amelia quickly slipped back down the hallway, and made a production of walking back towards the room, so they would hear her coming. As she rounded the corner, she arranged her face into a surprised delighted expression. "There you two are." She said smiling at Clarke who was trying it seemed, to make everything appear normal and relaxed between the two… Even though Amelia knew better. Bellamy on the other hand made no such attempt. He was still sitting where he was before, except that his head was bowed and his shoulders slumped, while he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yep. Here we are." Clarke said, grimacing slightly. "I'm sorry, I got caught up with this place." She said waving her hand around the room. She started making her way towards Amelia and the door. "Amelia would you mind if I borrowed a phone and a phone book? I need to call a cab." Bellamy's head jerked up and around at those words to stare at her.

"Why is that dear?" Amelia asked, slightly confused.

"I drank those two glasses of wine, and I'm not fit to drive." She said. Amelia took notice of her appearance, and notice the light flush on her cheeks and the somewhat glassy quality to her eyes. She wasn't drunk, that much was obvious, but it probably wasn't a good idea for her to drive. Amelia was not happy, however, to have her take a cab so late at night.

Before she could speak, Bellamy spoke up and volunteered. "I'll take you home."

Immediately, Clarke turned and shook her head at him. "It's fine. I'll just take a cab and then come get my car tomorrow sometime." She turned back to Amelia with an expectant look on her face.

"How about you stay in one of the guest rooms tonight dear, or let Bellamy drive you home? He was going to be driving back to the city tonight anyway. He could take your car and have one of his people pick him up from your place. What do you say, hmm?" Amelia asked innocently, stepping forward to rub the tops of her arms soothingly. Clarke visibly wasn't very happy with her options, and hesitated before finally agreeing to let Bellamy drive her home in her car, with a resigned, quiet, "Okay."

Amelia walked them to the front door, making sure they had everything, and said goodbye to them both. She watched as Bellamy walked Clarke to her car and opened the passenger door for her so she could get in, before closing it and walking to the driver side and getting in.

As they pulled away and disappeared into the night, Amelia sent up another little prayer that they would talk and resolve things between them… If they couldn't be friends, at the very least, they could be close acquaintance on good terms with one another, right? They had to be, seeing as how Clarke was going to be running things in a couple of years, and Bellamy was already an integral part of the Family… He wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon, and neither was she.

With those thoughts, and the disappearance of the car's tail lights, Amelia walked inside, closing her door and turning her porch light off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, long time no see. I'm curious, did anyone cautiously open up the story update email, immediately look at the word count, and upon seeing the 11k words written for this chapter sigh in relief that it wasn't me updating with an A/N saying I was abandoning the story? I think some of you thought that was going to happen... I am writing, and will never abandon this story. For those of you that want to know, the summery for the reason of my absence these past 7 months or so is as follows:
> 
> In June, my father had his surgery, and came out of it well. He was able to start work in September I think. I thank each of you for your well wishes and prayers, by the way. They were so welcome and needed. I was very busy this summer with the two college classes I was taking, and focusing on my family. I started back at school in August, and for a couple of months, things were okay, but busy. I was focused on school and my family (what else right?). It was actually during this time that I wrote this chapter and the next one. I had decided to take the story in a new direction, after a lot of thought and planning, and I wanted to get a couple of chapters built up to make sure everything flowed and was going to work before I started posting. I had no idea of the events that would prohibit me from both writing and posting. In mid-November, my maternal grandfather was hospitalized (the week before Thanksgiving week) so I went home that weekend to be there for him, my mom, and that whole side of the family while he was in the hospital. I stayed with my mom on the night she was to be there with him, and was up with him most of the night, giving him water, making sure he was comfortable, and just monitoring him. Hey stayed in the hospital for two weeks (through Thanksgiving), and I swear, there were 4 or 5 different occasions where he would worsen to the point where we thought he was taking his last breaths. It was terrifying. However, despite my grandpa being in the hospital for Thanksgiving, we still celebrated at my maternal grandmother's house, and I can honestly say it was one of the best family Thanksgiving's (on mom's side anyway) in years. Usually, my sister and I are ducking people, their craziness, and their nosy questions, but this year we had fun for once. We laughed so much and so hard, it was unbelievable. The next night, my adopted cousin, Blue, was killed in a motorcycle accident. My cousin whom I grew up with, had just saw, just laughed with, joked with, was dead. He was an Army vet (two tours), with one of the greatest beautifully tragic, but real life inspiring stories I'll probably ever know and have gotten to witness. He was loved dearly by our whole family, and it hit us all so hard. I still remember the last thing he said to my sister and I, "Listen to your elders, they have wisdom to impart to you.". I don't think I will ever forget those words or the three loud bangs of the riffle volley at his funeral, or the feeling of my other cousin, who was like a brother to Blue, shakeing as he stood next to me, tears streaming silently down his face as they fired. It haunts me in a way I can't explain, and I don't know why. The weekend that Blue died (it was on a Friday that it happened) my grandfather made the decision that he wanted to go home to die, and so agreed to allow hospice to take over his medical care so he could go home. He told me that he was "just so sick and tired of being sick and tired." and that he'd made his peace with dying years before, and was just ready for it to be over with. He lived through Christmas, and the New Year, and was seemingly recovering much to our relief and happiness, but it was all smoke and mirrors. He got another infection and died the morning of Jan. 12 while I was getting ready to go to school. My mom called me an hour later while I was driving and told me... As you can imagine, I had to pull over. I don't remember much of his memorial, just flashes of people, and things said, and the view I had out the window near the chair I was sitting in. I lost two family members in less than a month and a half, and the grief is still overwhelming at times. I'll admit to struggling at times with balancing everything I have going on and am feeling, but I want you all to know I appreciate the love, concern, encouragement, and understanding I get from my readers, as well as you guys having the patience to stick with me while I've been dealing with real life.
> 
> So if you liked the chapter, great, there's more coming. Again, I'll never abandon this story. Of course, I'd like to hear if you liked it or what you like about it, so drop me a review maybe? If you didn't like it, okay, sorry for the disappointment.  
> -Redhead17x (Come find me on tumblr, under the same name.)  
> P.S.- Whose excited for the upcoming season premier? I know I am.


	25. Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the love and support expressed in the comments. It means the world to me. I'm doing okay, some good days, some bad, but every comment helped brighten my day a little more, and I appreciate you all continuing to be loyal to me and to this story.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.
> 
> Warning: Some language, and things heat up a little at the end of the chapter, but nothing that I don't think you all can handle. See the end for important notes.

**Lips of an Angel- Chapter 25- Awkward**

The car was silent as Bellamy drove, and it was the silence that was, ironically enough, driving Bellamy crazy.

Clarke hadn’t said one word to him, not that he expected her to really… Not after their discussion (if it could even be called that) in his grandmother’s solarium earlier. She had been right… She had texted him and called him after the disaster that was Monday night, and while he had the very real, very tangible excuse of almost constantly being busy during the week, it was the knowledge that even if he hadn’t been so overwhelmingly busy, he probably still wouldn’t have picked up her calls or responded to her messages. The guilt he felt over that knowledge, mingled with the relief he felt at having been too busy to consider and think about it all… In his eyes, the decision had been taken right out of his hands.

The demands Damian had made of him over the past week had, in all honesty, been a blessing and a curse. While he hated what his father was trying to do to him and was pushed almost to the breaking point a couple of times, he welcomed it in a way. All the work centered and focused him, ensuring he didn’t break, and he came out of the test stronger than before. He had been too busy to sit and run the events of Saturday over and over in his mind, looking for any way he could have prevented what happened. He had been so busy, he didn’t have time to dwell on how much he missed Clarke, and seeing her every day… At least that’s what he told himself. He had been so busy, he was able to avoid the emotional turmoil that was going on inside him after the meeting Saturday, the day spent with Lincoln on Sunday, and the calamity that was Monday.

Monday was the day reality bitch-slapped him in the face and made him wake up to the catastrophe that had become his life. Monday was the day he realized he was just fooling himself and enabling Clarke with her idea that they could be ‘just friends’. Monday was the day he made the decision to pull away and give in to a small bit of the anger that had begun to seep into his very being…

_Bellamy groggily opened his eyes at the sound of his alarm blaring. He had work in two hours, and he needed to get up and run before getting ready for work. The weekend’s events didn’t mean he could just stop going. He had responsibilities and things to do at work. Except, he felt like crap… He’d constantly been woken by nightmares during the night and he had barely managed to get four hours of solid sleep in after the phone call with Clarke, late the previous night._

_After dragging himself out of bed, he mindlessly went through his morning routine, and then left his apartment only to find himself at his desk in his office with a steaming cup of coffee in front of him in, what seemed like, no time at all. He began working on the stack of documents on his desk and was interrupted around ten in the morning, by his grandmother showing up asking to see him._

_Bellamy instructed Roma to let her in, and his office door opened._

_“Hello nipote (grandson). How is your morning going?” She asked calmly as she walked into his office and closed his door before walking around his desk to where he was sitting. She began pulling things out of her large bag… Napkins, silverware, miniature bottle of syrup, container of pancakes, and a Ziploc bag containing four pieces of bacon all appeared before him._

_“Umm… I’m okay?” Bellamy said bewildered. He meant it to come out as a statement, but it came out sounding more like a question instead._

_“That’s good to hear.” She said on the move once more. She moved back around his desk to the two chairs that sat directly facing him, and set her bag down, pulling out a flask to Bellamy’s absolute shock._

_Amelia, noticing her grandson’s expression, smirked, knowing what he thought was in the metal container. “Don’t get too excited… It’s just straight orange juice I’m afraid, nothing extra. Marcus has left at least three of these darn things at my house, and I couldn’t reach my old thermos in the back of my top cabinet, so this will have to do.”_

_Bellamy shook his head, still a bit dazed at everything before him, as she set the flask on his desk and sat down in the other chair not occupied by her bag._

_Bellamy didn’t move, making his grandmother frown. “Well?” She asked wide eyed, her eyes flickering from him to the food on his desk, prompting him to start eating. When Bellamy kept staring at her in… Amusement? Confusion? Amelia asked, “Have you already eaten breakfast?” Wondering is her instincts might have been wrong on this one._

_Bellamy shook his head no… He hadn’t been able to even entertain the idea of eating anything that morning. The idea of food had caused his stomach rebel and role with nausea… Kind of like it was now. Bellamy still didn’t make a move to eat the food, but instead opened his mouth to protest that he wasn’t very hungry._

_“Eat boy!” Amelia commanded sternly, cutting him off before he could say anything, her blue eyes narrowing into a deadly glare. Bellamy jumped at her sharp tone, not expecting it, and slowly moved forward in his seat and began eating. The older woman’s gaze softened along with her tone, “Good, now I want every bit of that gone mister. I would also like to know when the last time you ate was, because darling, you are looking a touch peaked.” She tutted._

_Bellamy paused mid bit, knowing when the last time he ate was… The previous morning at his grandmother’s house, when she had stayed home from church, and even then, he had only eaten a few small bites. Bellamy looked up at her innocently, with a touch of guilt… She glared at him again knowing the answer already, but didn’t comment, for which Bellamy was grateful._

_It was strange, but after the first couple of bites, which he practically had to force down his throat, the taste of the food started to register, and Bellamy realized just how hungry he actually was… He ate everything as per his bossy grandmother’s orders. She stayed and talked of a little while, before announcing she had to get going if she were to get to her lunch meeting on time. When Bellamy asked with whom, his grandmother seemed reluctant to answer, which clued him in right away as though she had said her name out loud._

_“It’s Clarke, isn’t it?” Bellamy asked his face neutral and voice flat._

_Amelia nodded. “I told her I’d be dropping in a few times this week to see her and have lunch with her. Have you… Have you talked to her at all?” Amelia asked weakly, not knowing how Bellamy would react… She was also equal parts fearful of and dreading the answer._

_“Yeah. We talked yesterday. We decided on being… Friends. We’re supposed to go out soon and do something… Which I have no idea what we are going to do.” He said a bit miserably as Amelia tucked the things she used for his breakfast back in her bag._

_“Perhaps you should take her to something casual…” Amelia suggested. “Start off slow. Maybe you should do dinner or a movie or maybe got to a bar? Or you could go for the simple coffee at a book shop or something? I don’t know what it is young people do these days.”_

_Bellamy gave a weak smile of acknowledgement and nodded at all the good ideas… He decided to just wait to pick one until later that night when he picked her up at her place. Bellamy said goodbye to his grandmother and worked the rest of the day… Unfortunately, he worked longer than he expected to and didn’t have time to go home and change into casual clothes or pick up a car and send Jones home, so Bellamy had to pick her up with bodyguard and work SUV as well as work clothes all present._

_Bellamy had foolishly thought he’d go upstairs to get her, but upon seeing Clarke waiting outside, leaning against the building, he realized that would have seemed too date like, thus the reason she was waiting outside. Even worse than that realization was the reminiscing his mind was doing… She had waited outside leaning against the same spot the night he took her to the Met… The night they had gone out together as friends the first time around, and look at where that had landed them. Could he do it all again a second time around and not fall more and more in love with her every day like he did before? Could he trust himself enough to keep a distance between them so it didn’t cross the now very clear boundary that had been drawn between them?_ Only time would tell the answer _, he thought._

_Bellamy got out of the car, telling Jones to stay put, and watched as she noticed him getting out and began walking over. She looked a little paler than usual, and there were light shadows under her eyes from tiredness, but overall she looked good… Damn good. Even after just one day, he already missed her more than words could describe._

_“Um… Hey.” She said nervously, looking anywhere but at him. Her hands fidgeted with the strap of her purse on her shoulder. Sadness overcame Bellamy at her obvious discomfort and distress… He’d never seen her fidget like this before._

_Clearing his throat of the emotion he felt lodged there, Bellamy spoke, “Hey, so you ready to go?”_

_She nodded and he opened the door for her on instinct… He had to resist the urge he felt to offer her a hand to steady her as she climbed into the SUV, instead tucking his hand into his pants pocket._

_Once they were both inside, Bellamy again spoke, ignoring the tension in the car between him and Clarke, and instead deciding on a spot for what they were going to do that evening, “I thought we could go see a movie… Is that okay with you?” He asked hesitantly._

_“Yes… Sounds great.” She said smiling feebly, it in no way reaching her eyes like one of her real genuine ones would._

_Bellamy nodded and gave Jones the directions. The rest of the short car ride only cemented Bellamy’s happiness with his movie decision. The forced small talk they made was torture… Her asking vaguely about his work, him asking about hers, commenting on the abnormally heavy traffic that evening… The weather was even brought up at one point, and in Bellamy’s opinion, that couldn’t have been more of a kick in the gut than if he’d actually been kicked in the gut. They had been reduced from talking about, just about, everything, to talking about the crappy weather they’d been having that day._

_Everything about them now was… Awkward. He felt tense, not knowing how to act really, or what to say, and she seemed self-conscious and edgy. Bellamy followed her lead not to talk about… Certain things, namely their families, her upcoming marriage, the mob, or her past… Again, not that he’d know what to say about any of it. It didn’t feel right to joke and laugh with her like he’d done before, because it felt too much like flirting, and, it had been before… Of course, that wouldn’t be appropriate now. Bellamy found it hard to remember what they’d talked about and acted like before all of this had happened. All of this combined, lead to them having nothing to talk about but the weather. Bellamy figured that by going to a movie, the nice quiet, dark movie theatre would ensure they wouldn’t have to try to talk or look at each other, like they were so uncomfortably doing now._

_When they got to the theatre, Bellamy let her pick the movie, secretly praying she didn’t pick a chick flick or some romantic comedy… Much to his relief, she picked some action movie about dinosaurs, that looked okay._

_What Bellamy wasn’t counting on however, was that the close proximity in the dark theatre with her would increase the tension they both felt. As the two torturous hours passed, Bellamy found himself not even paying the slightest bit of attention to four people on screen as they tried to get off the island and away from the genetically modified dinosaur trying to kill them all. Instead, all Bellamy could focus on was the heat on his right side emanating from the blonde in the seat next to his, the way her arm would brush against his every once in a blue moon as they shared the armrest, and how easy and simple it would be to reach one hand over and cover both of hers to still their restless movement which had started when they sat down, and had hardly stopped since… But that was a very slippery slope to go down._

_When the movie was over and the lights came back on, Bellamy hardly noticed the breath Clarke expelled as he was too busy inhaling a deep breath and loosening his shoulders a bit, finally feeling as though he could breathe. They were mostly silent as they exited the theatre. Bellamy had to clamp down on the urge to rest a hand on her lower back to guide her out of the crowded theatre, instead deciding to clench his hand into a fist at his side and walk slower so they didn’t lose each other._

_When they were outside, just standing on the sidewalk out of the way of the foot traffic, Bellamy again floundered with what to say or do… The decision was kind of made up for him when she looked up and directly at him for what felt like the first time all night, and asked him if he was hungry. He wasn’t really, but he figured she was trying, like he was, to make this whole ‘friends’ thing work, so it was probably best to agree and continue on with the charade they both were putting on for the other._

_So, they went to a small hole in the wall pizza place she found her first week in the city, and ordered a slice each… Paying separately, even though it almost killed Bellamy on the inside to do so. As they sat on a park bench in Central park a few blocks from her apartment building, Bellamy ventured into off-limits territory and asked her about how she and Lincoln were doing._

_“We’re… Better.” She admitted. “I came to understand his difficult position in… The whole thing that happened.” She said, pausing and taking a deep breath. “He told me how sorry he was and that he never wanted this for me. He said he’d never betray me like that again.”_

_Bellamy nodded. “You’ve got a good brother you know.” He said gently nudging her shoulder with his own. “Hell, I should know.”_

_There was a brief pause that was less tense and uncomfortable than how the rest of the night had been, before Clarke hesitantly spoke._

_“Bellamy? I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about this, but why do you and Finn hate each other?” Bellamy’s face darkened at the question as he internally reeled with what to say. Clarke, seeing his drastic facial change, jumped to try and salvage the somewhat real conversation they had started to have. “I’m sorry. That was prying too much. I just wanted to understand a little the animosity…”_

_“No…” Bellamy cut her off. “It’s okay.” He said gruffly. She was marrying the guy… She should know a little of what she was jumping in the middle of with him and Finn. “It pretty much started the moment I showed up on Damian’s door step with Marcus, orphaned and nowhere to go. Damian felt guilty at not having been there for me my whole life, and felt responsible for what happened to my mother… Marcus told me one time that, in Damian’s mind, had he married her when he had the chance instead of arguing with his father over the arranged marriage he was bound to with Vanessa, then she never would have died, I would have grown up with a father for the first eight years of my life, and he would have been with his true love with a family he adored. It was never any secret that he loved my mother more than he ever loved Vanessa, and seeing as how I was Aurora’s child, I became the… Favorite child, I guess you could say. Damian went out of his way to see me and raise me with Marcus’s help, and make sure I had the best of everything and every opportunity. Vanessa thought that Finn was being overlooked as second best, and started to poison him against me and spoiling him to the point of him being rotten, and Damian just let it happen for whatever the reason… You’d have to ask him. I never saw him as a child or pre-teen, because I was kept away from Damian’s ‘real’ family… It wouldn’t be proper after all for his bastard son to have any real place with the legitimate family. By the time I met Finn, we were teenagers, and it was too late… Vanessa had already poisoned him completely against me, and we were too different… Still are. So, I never really had a chance of having a true sibling bond with him and us being brothers.” Bellamy shook his head._

_“Honestly, as we continued to grow older, and I started my company and became successful, Finn hated me even more, and never fails to bring up how I’ve stolen his life from him, even though he’s had all the same opportunities, if not more. It’s pathetic on his part, and up until Saturday, I pitied him, but I realize that was a major mistake on my part…” Bellamy abruptly stopped talking, not wanting to continue speaking on the subject. Clarke picked up on that and turned the conversation to something lighter._

_“Your grandmother came to visit me yesterday and today.” She said smiling slightly. “She was very good to me yesterday, bringing me her special healing soup that she makes you when you get sick. She told me that you get grumpy when you get sick… Is that true Mr. Blake?” She asked teasingly._

_Bellamy involuntarily smiled a little, before putting on an affronted face laying his hand on his chest. “Who? Me? I’m an angel always. I have no idea what you talking about.” He said finishing the performance by shaking his head as though the very thought of being grumpy when sick was silly._

_She laughed a little. “I told her you were completely fine when I treated you at the hospital upon our first meeting… I don’t think she believed me completely though. You, sir, have a reputation of being very ornery when forced to go to the hospital or see a doctor.”_

_Bellamy shrugged. “My attitude depends on the doctor I guess, and besides, I wasn’t forced to go to the hospital…” He practically volunteered, following her like a lost puppy… That had been the start of the end for him… For them, that is._

_That thought was sobering. What was he doing? What were they doing?!_

_“Well,” Clarke started, not sensing Bellamy’s abrupt mood change. “I told your grandmother I’d help her next time you get sick, since I seem to be the only doctor you’ll tolerate… She seemed happy with the idea…” Clarke babbled on, but her words only darkened Bellamy’s mood. Then he thought of the plan he had concocted… The plan that had been a long time coming in his opinion. If he would actually decide on whether to pursue that idea, then he actually_ wouldn’t _be around for her to take care of him when he was sick. It wouldn’t be right anyhow, her being_ married _and all. If only Bellamy could figure out what was hold him back from making a real decision on the matter, then he would no longer feel like he did the past two days… Like he was hanging in this state of limbo._

_“Bellamy?” Clarke asked, drawing him from his thoughts. “Are you okay?”_

_“Yeah.” Bellamy lied. “I was just thinking about the movie.” He lied again._

_“Oh… Yeah, it was great. I liked the…” She continued talking, and Bellamy’s mind drifted to the tickets he had in his pocket… Should he bring it up? It had been something he’d found ages ago, and thought she’d love to go to… With him. Bellamy swallowed. He had been planning on it being their first date, figuring by the time the event came around, he’d have wooed her successfully, and might have even worked out a way to tell her who he really was… But then he’d gone and kissed her Friday night, and even worst, Saturday happened._

_‘We could still go as friends…’ He thought despairingly, with a touch of desperateness._

_“Hey Clarke?” He said, interrupting her, she looked over at him with raised eyebrows. “I, uh, got you something…” He said, pulling the tickets from his pocket, and handing them over to her, thinking of a quick excuse as to why he got them for her, Bellamy continued, “Think of it like a very, very early birthday present, but since its time sensitive, I figured it would be acceptable to give it to you now…”_

_They were for the Pageant of the Masters ‘living pictures’ show, where real people pose to look exactly like their counterparts in the original paintings. It was out in California during the Festival of Arts, so they’d have to take a trip, but… Bellamy figured she’d enjoy the whole festival, not just the show._

_She took them from him and took one glance at them before jumping up, exclaiming with sheer delight and excitement, “Oh my God! Are these real?! How did you know I’ve wanted to see this for forever?!” Her eyes were lit up in a way Bellamy didn’t think he’d ever see again, and it made his heart ache so bitter sweetly, even as he laughed a little at her enthusiasm... For something so seemingly small to him too._

_“I didn’t… Just sounded like something you’d be into.” Bellamy said truthfully as he too stood. “It's next month, so…”_

_Before he could finish talking, she let out a squeal before jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much Bellamy! I could just kiss you right now.” She said pulling away, looking back down at the tickets in her hand with awe, but the damage was done._

_Bellamy froze… It was said so casually and unthinkingly, Bellamy was sure she didn’t even know she said it, much less said it aloud. Of course, Bellamy knew it was said in the heat of the moment, and it was just a saying, but that didn’t stop him from thinking he wished he could kiss her right then too… Just to feel those soft lips one more time against his own… To hear her sigh so sweetly and to see her beautiful blue eyes flutter open when he finally released her from the kiss… To feel the solid warm weight of her in his arms as he held her for one last time… All of it being one last I Love You and Goodbye, but that was the thing, Bellamy knew it would never be enough. Hell, he could kiss her and hold her for eternity and it would still never be enough._

_That was the crux of the issue it seemed… All the time he spent with her as friends would never be enough to satisfy the yearning in him to have her completely. He’d always want more, and she couldn’t give him more. After realization washed over him, came the panic… What the hell was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t be friends with her… Hell, he couldn’t even look at her without a knife of pain stabbing him in the gut, knowing she’d never be his. What in the absolute hell had he been thinking agreeing to this?! She was dangerous… She had this ability to get him to do things, to talk him into things, things that he didn’t think were a good idea and things that went against what his subconscious said to do. He had been acting out of character since he’d met her, and while that had been his own stupid fault, it had to stop now… For his sanity and his own self-preservation, it had to stop. He had to stay away from her completely if he had any chance of surviving this._

_Bellamy watched rigidly as Clarke looked up at him, still smiling, not realizing the epiphany that he’d just had… That smile on her face however, faded into a look of confusion at seeing the massive grimace on his face. “Bellamy? What’s wrong?” She asked concerned, her eyes searching his face for any clues as to the reason of his dark look. After a moment, she asked, “Did I do something…” But trailed off, a look of realization coloring her face before shock and consternation replaced it. Bellamy could literally tell the second her previous words registered in her mind… “OH God…” She choked out. “I’m so sorr-”_

_Thankfully, the abrupt ringing of Bellamy’s phone cut her words off. He honestly couldn’t handle anything that she was about to say, so despite the abruptness, and the absolute rudeness of it, Bellamy quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and answered, not caring who was on the other end of the phone. For once in his life, Bellamy was just grateful that it was ringing, and that it had rung when it did._

_“Blake.” He answered gruffly, turning away from the woman in front of him, who was watching him with something akin to distress. The awkwardness from before that had faded into the background, was back now in full force, almost crushing his larynx._

_“Hey Boss, we got a text from Marcus about ten minutes ago about a job. We’re all on the way to the club now to gear up. Orders?” Miller said getting to the point quickly._

_“Stay put. I’ll be there in thirty to forty minutes.” Bellamy said before hanging up, and seeing the text on the screen that Miller had just informed him about._

_Turning around, Bellamy noticed Clarke looking down, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. Bellamy cleared his throat and said quietly, “Sorry, but I have to go. I’ll drop you off at your place.” Clarke jerkily nodded her head and sniffled so quietly, Bellamy almost missed it. She quickly swiped something from her cheek, and looked up at him with slightly red eyes, hardly noticeable in the dim lighting of the street lamp, but noticeable nonetheless._

_Bellamy didn’t say anything or make a move towards her, no matter how much he wanted to. It wasn’t until she made a little gesture for him to lead the way, that he turned and began walking to where they left Jones and the SUV._

_The ride was short, and silent… Even more uncomfortable than at the start of the night, if that was even possible._

_About a block from her apartment, Clarke turned to look at him and spoke up, her voice just barely a whisper, but sounding like a shout reverberating through the quiet car. “I’m sorry about… The thing. It won’t happen again. Promise. Things will get better as we continue to see each other as friends… We just have to get used to the new reality of how things are. The awkwardness and tense atmosphere will go away eventually.” She said turning back to look out the window. So quietly, Bellamy barely comprehended that she said anything at all, she muttered, “It has to.”_

_Bellamy didn’t respond back in anyway, just turning back to stare out his own window… He couldn’t assure her or reassure her of anything… He’d already lied to her enough, about so much it seemed. How could he tell her it would get better seeing each other and just being friends, when he knew he was about to pull away from her? He also couldn’t bring himself to negate what she was saying and crush her with his words… How could he open his mouth and break her heart with everything running through his mind?_

_Once they got to her apartment building, Bellamy slipped out of the car and waited as she followed suit. Once they were both on the sidewalk, Bellamy was as lost about what to do next as he had ever been about anything. Hug her? Kiss her cheek? Fake smile and ‘goodbye’? Oh, but what he got was so much worst._

_She went to hug him, and Bellamy’s delayed reaction to the hug (not quite catching what she was trying to do), caused her to falter and instead hold her hand out for a handshake right as Bellamy was leaning in for the original hug. Thus, the result was an unbearably painful, awkward handshake, as they stood too closely to one another._

_“Night Bellamy.” She said softly, giving him a small smile. “I’ll talk to you soon okay?”_

_Bellamy nodded, his face impassive, and watched as she turned and walked to her building door, disappearing inside._

That had been the last time he had seen her in person or spoken to her until the party earlier that afternoon.

However, what no one but him knew was, he kept a close eye on her through Sterling, who gave him reports of her movements along with pictures when they were requested. She had been nowhere but work, the bodega up the street, and the grocery store on occasion. Other than that, she had been holed up in her apartment.

It had been hard to stay away from her… To not pick up her call when he saw her name and picture on the caller ID… To not text her back when he got a message… To not rush over to her place when he woke in the middle of the night shaking from a nightmare where she was taken from him in a more permanent way.

At first he’d been angry… Almost irrationally so. He couldn’t pinpoint why either. Everyone and everything just aggravated and annoyed him to death. He snapped at just about everyone, everyone but his grandmother that is. It was Jasper that snapped him out of it, exclaiming how just because Clarke chose to marry Finn over being with him, didn’t mean he could rage and push the people closest to him away. It wasn’t their fault, and that they were sticking with him no matter what he did or said, come hell or high water.

That had been a real eye opener… He had been angry over what happened, and he was pushing people away in an effort not to be hurt again by anyone close to him. How can someone close to you hurt you if they’re not there to do to it?

He tried… Tried so hard… To be angry with Clarke. To blame her for his pain and their current situation. To hate her. It would have been so much easier to stay away from her and not hurt so much if he’d been able to do that, but every failed attempt made him love her just a little bit more and feel a little bit more hollow than he’d felt before, because while she had, in a way, been at fault, she had been put in an impossible situation, and she chose to be loyal to her family and do what she thought was right, even though it killed her, and him, to do so.

After that, the anger that he had felt simmering beneath the surface, disappeared… His head was clear of it, like he’d locked it away in a box stuffed to the back of a closet on the top shelf to be forgotten about for years. He couldn’t muster it up or bring it back for anything. He was perhaps a little less patient than he was before (which was saying something) when dealing with Family business and a little quicker to pull his gun on someone who he thought deserved it, but that was neither here nor there. Without the anger, he just felt empty and hollow… Detached, like he was a ghost passing through walls and people, not being seen nor heard. While he could mostly avoid that feeling by being buried in paperwork and contracts for BGE, it was in moments where he was forced to take a break, for food or sleep, that he found himself missing her and mourning his loss of her… Thus, food and sleep breaks became fewer and fewer, until both were nothing but a means of surviving and getting through to the next day, to repeat it all over again.

While working had always been his go to, serving to distract him for the most part from his problems, it now also served to give him back a routine and a sense of normalcy, even though everything seemed lacking. His heart wasn’t truly in anything he did anymore, not that it had ever really been there to begin with, but he had enjoyed running his own company and spending time with his guys… They were his family. Even visits from his grandmother didn’t bring him any joy or happiness… He only worried that she was worrying over him, and that he couldn’t come up with a way to convince her that he was okay. Hell, he couldn’t even put in any effort to lie to her or put up a front that said he was okay. He just felt tired all the time, but sleeping led to nightmares and dreams about her, making him miss her even more when he woke up and she wasn’t there or he couldn’t go see her.

By the end of the week, he’d been starving… Not physically for food, but to see her. In person. To hear her talk, maybe even laugh. To see if he remembered the right shade of her blue eyes. To see if she would glare at him for avoiding her, or ignore him like he’d done her. To just see her be, in the flesh. He swore to himself that it was just this one time… He’d see her, and then he’d have some fake emergency and have to leave to deal with it. He’d been a little nervous, but Bellamy ignored it, sticking to his plan. See her. Leave. That was it. But…

But then he saw her, and she looked so beautiful. Sad, but beautiful. He wanted nothing but to go over and comfort her right then… Hug her, kiss her forehead, tell her everything was going to be okay. Immediately after the thought though his mind viciously thought of the horrible handshake that had occurred Monday night… It was that memory that kept him rooted to the spot, just staring at her and taking her in. Golden blonde hair… Sky blue eyes just as clear and blue at the Mediterranean Sea… She was a vision, a vision that he was broken out of by the clearing of his grandmother’s throat.

After that, every time he reached for his phone to get the ‘disastrous’ phone call that would end his time at his grandmother's, something stopped him… Alison wanting to go swimming, Anson showing up… Clarke would laugh or smile, and he’d want to stay a bit longer to see if her could hear it, or see it, again. He mentally scoffed at his own patheticness and weakness… How had he come to be this way?

And now here he was… Driving her home. He had no type of self-restraint when it came to her. Looking over, Bellamy saw her sound asleep in the passenger seat, her head lolling to the side giving him an almost clear view of her peaceful face. Coming to a stop at a stop light on the outer edge of the city, Bellamy reached over and gently brushed the single strand of hair from her cheek that had obstructed his view, tucking it behind her ear. The little sigh she rewarded him with made his heart kick in his chest before settling down again. Oh, yeah… That’s how.

As he continued driving, Bellamy took the time to soak in everything he was feeling at that moment having her so near to him… It was like looking as a painting in a museum that evoked such strong emotions in you, yet, when the time comes, even though you won’t be able to take the painting with you, and it’s not yours, the memory of the way you felt looking at it will follow you ‘til the end of time. She was his Mona Lisa… Forever beautiful, and forever never his.

Pulling up to her apartment building, Bellamy parked her car in her normal spot, and slowly, quietly, climbed out. He walked around to her side of the car, and opened her door, squatting down he gently tried to wake her.

Clarke turned her head and slowly opened her eyes and blinking at him once or twice before closing them again and smiling slightly, murmuring his name softly. Bellamy unbuckled her seatbelt and whispered, “Come on Princess, let’s get you upstairs.”

Clarke opened her eyes again and pouted exaggeratedly, before saying, “I’m really so comfy… But, if I must. Help me up good sir.” Bellamy chuckled at her playful behavior, and helped her out of the car. It was good to see a little of the spirited woman Bellamy was sure had disappeared… It felt good to genuinely laugh at something too.

Once she was standing on the ground, and Bellamy had let her go, Clarke started to sway unsteadily. Bellamy quickly darted his hands forward to grab her before she toppled over. “Woah…” She said dizzily. “Should not have had that second glass of wine. Curse your grandmother and her good taste in wine.” Clarke grumbled good-naturedly. Bellamy chuckled again, a little harder this time. “What was I thinking? I know I shouldn’t drink more than half a glass, one whole one if I’m feeling daring, but _two?!_ ” She asked with such an affronted voice, looking at him wide-eyed as though he could actually tell her why she did it. Bellamy was shaking now, trying to hold in his laughter. “Wait, don’t answer that… I know why I did it.” Clarke said narrowing her eyes and looking off at some distant point on the ground, and slowly shaking her head. “It was really good, and your grandmother refilled my glass while I was distracted with what we were talking about… And then Emori…” Clarke abruptly stopped talking looking up at Bellamy with wide eyes once again, like she had forgotten he was there, and he was who she was talking to. “Never mind.” She said primly, looking away from him. It was Bellamy’s turn to narrow his eyes… She was obviously avoiding something that had to do with him, and he wanted to know what. He wanted her to finish that sentence. “I’ve, uh, got to go, before I say something I shouldn’t. Bye Bellamy, thanks for driving me and my car home. She appreciates it.” Clarke said patting the top of the car, before closing her door and stepping away from him and the support he was offering her. She took two steps before stumbling slightly. Bellamy again jumped forward, grabbing her around the waist, save she actually fell and hurt herself.

“Okay drunkie… Let’s go.” Bellamy said humorously. It was so odd to see her like this. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist as he began walking towards her building, locking the car behind him with the key fob.

“Hey.” Clarke protested. “I’m not druck… I mean drunk. Just a little buzzed. Like a bee. I have a very low alcohol tolerance… Something about a missing gene or something ridiculous like that.” She said rolling her eyes.

_Oh this should be good…_ Bellamy thought almost gleefully. “What do you mean, missing a gene?”

“I dunno...” Clarke said shrugging. “One of my college friends did a project, and asked me to be a test subject. I said yes, and the results said I’m missing something… Genetically, I guess. I get tipsy really easily, especially on an empty stomach…”

That explains a lot… She’d hardly eaten anything throughout the whole day. He should know, seeing as how he’d been watching her the whole day.

“I hardly ever drink, and if I do, its light stuff. No siree, no hard liquor for me… I can’t stand the smell of it.” She said continuing to babbling slightly as they walked through the main entrance door and headed for the stairs.

“Light stuff for the lightweight, huh?” Bellamy said, trying to keep her talking. He’d missed this. Her talking to him openly… Babbling slightly. Thinking back on all the time they’d spent together, he realized that she really wasn’t a big drinker. If they ordered or drank any alcohol, it was wine, and she only took two or three sips and always had a glass of water nearby. He occasionally had a beer, but she always chose some other drink… Like a chocolate milkshake to dip French fries in. The memory of that better, happier time made Bellamy smile…

“Oh yes. Linc makes fun of me for it because alcohol hardly affects him at all… He can drink lots of delicious wine and still be fine… That rhymed.” She giggled. “But, I can’t, isn’t that just terrible?!” She asked with a slightly outraged tint to her voice.

“Yes, it’s the absolute worst…” Bellamy said smiling broadly. “You know… The second wine glass may have been a ploy on my grandmother’s part to get you to stay the night at her place.” Bellamy suggested to see what she said or how she reacted.

She tripped. She went down, giggling like mad, and had it not been for Bellamy, she’d have face planted right there on the landing between the first and second floors. As it was, he did catch her, even as her giggles turned into full blown laughter, and she buried her head in his chest, shaking from the force of it. Slowly the laughter died down and she took a couple of deep breaths, still chuckling here and there. Finally, she looked up at him. He had one eyebrow raised and a cautious smile on his face not knowing why what he said was so funny. Seeing his face, she broke down in giggles again, eventually calming down enough to say, “I don’t think she did it on purpose. Your grandmother isn’t like that at all… She’s the nicest, most innocent, protective, vanilla bean in the entire world.”

That startled a laugh out of Bellamy, “Vanilla bean?”

“Yes! I finally figured it out today. Her and her whole house smell like the Bath and Body Works Vanilla Bean collection… It makes me think of…” She paused and furrowed her eyebrows. “Comfort. If comfort had a smell, that’s what it would smell like. Your grandmother and, well, you.” Bellamy gently got them moving again, as she continued talking about how great his grandmother was…

Once they were on Clarke’s floor, Bellamy interrupted Clarke, asking, “Hey Clarke?”

“Hey Bellamy?” She asked back. They had walked to her door, and he still had his arm around her waist… He didn’t remove it, not wanting to take the chance that she couldn’t stand fully on her own, and had an unpleasant meeting with the ground.

“What?” Bellamy answered, wondering what she was going to say as he turned her in his arms so he could see her face, and not just the side profile.

“Nothing.” She said shrugging nonchalantly, her hands coming to rest on his chest. “I’m just annoyed that you’ve started the irritating habit of interrupting me. It’s quite rude. From now on, when you do that, I’m just going to repeat everything you say, and annoy you to death.” She said simply.

“Uh right.” Bellamy said vaguely amused. “Anyway, what did Emori say?”

“I don’t know.” She said looking up at him like he was crazy. “What _did_ Emori say?” She asked squinting at him.

“I don’t know.” Bellamy said. “That’s why I’m asking you!” He said, a bit vexed.

“When?” She asked still squinting at him. God, she looked adorable, but she was being quite trying at the moment. Funny enough it reminded him a bit of how they were in the very beginning… Her sneaking back to tip the waitress that was rude to her, using the excuse of her phone…

“Tonight.” Bellamy said calmly and patiently, knowing this conversation was reaching ridiculous status at an alarming rate, and he needed to slow it down. “Tonight, while you ladies were in the kitchen drinking wine, what did Emori say to you?”

“Okay, that doesn’t tell me anything. Emori said a lot of stuff tonight.” She said rolling her eyes, before looking up at him again. Her exasperation was felt and shared by Bellamy. The frustration was real. “Like… She said she likes John, and he asked her out, but she said no… Something about double standards?” She said uncertainly, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was trying to recall what was said exactly. “Um… Then she asked me about you and me and then she was leaving and…”

“That’s it!” Bellamy said quickly, and a little loudly, making Clarke jump and glare at him. “What about that?” He asked.

“What about that?” She repeated his words back to him.

“Wait, what?” He said confused.

“Wait, what?” She mimicked back in a deeper voice, what, he assumed, was supposed to be his. Then he caught on. Damn… He’d interrupted her.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” He said, knowing they were getting way off topic. He needed to figure out what Emori had asked about them.

“I’m sorry. It won’t ever happen again.” She said raising an eyebrow, silently challenging. Bellamy tried so hard, he really did, but she was just too damn… _Her_ , he couldn’t help the little smile that played at his lips.

Bellamy tried a couple different lines, trying to trick her up, not succeeding. “Your acting like a five year-old!” He said exasperatedly… She parroted it back to him. Tipsy Clarke was either really cute, or really irritating. Huh… He kinda got how irritating it must be for her to have him interrupt her like he had been.

“Um… I’m stupid?” Bellamy tried sheepishly.

“Your stupid.” Clarke said seriously. God… How was he supposed to trick her out of this so they could get back to the real conversation (if it could even be called that)? The it came to him.

“I hate frozen gummy bears.” He said smugly.

Clarke gasped, her eyes widening to saucers. “How dare you? What did the gummy bears ever do to you?”

“Ha!” Bellamy exclaimed. “Got you… What did Emori ask?”

“Um…” She hummed looking anywhere but at him.

Without thinking, Bellamy pulled her closer and held her tighter, using his free hand to grasp her chin and tilt it up so she was looking at him, except she closed her eyes, scrunching them together. “Clarke?” He asked softly, so softly it was almost a whisper, as he leaned in close. “Princess? Open those baby blues for me… Please?”

Slowly, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Upon seeing their close proximity, hardly any space between them at all, her eyes widened, while her pupils dilated to the point that he could only see a faint ring of blue. Her breathing picked up slightly, and Bellamy knew he had her right where he wanted her… Where that was exactly, he didn’t know, but he liked it. She was in his arms, looking up at him, completely at his mercy… Like she’d had him since the very beginning. It was a very dangerous game they were playing, but instead of stopping, calling it quits, backing up, apologizing, and leaving, Bellamy asked, “Tell me about what Emori asked, won’t you Princess?” He murmured to her, still holding her gaze captive in his.

“I-She… In the… You…” She stuttered out, not being able to complete a full sentence. She leaned closer to him, further into him and his hold.

“Come on Princess…” He cooed almost, as her eyes fluttered closed upon hearing his voice. “You can tell me… You were in the kitchen, drinking too much wine, naughty girl, and she turned to you and said…” Bellamy left the sentence dangling, hoping she’d complete it. He wanted to know what was asked, sure, but what he wanted was her answer to the question asked of her.

Releasing her chin, Bellamy slipped his hand to cup the side of her neck, feeling the silky strands of her golden locks against his knuckles and the smoothness of her skin under his hand... His thumb automatically stroked her flushed cheek. Clarke gave a small whimper at the contact, and leaned into his hand, her head lolling to the side a little, her eyes closed and her breathing heavy. Bellamy leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her neck, right at her rapidly beating pulse. He felt her shiver him is arms, and ignored the pride swelling in him knowing it was his ministrations that were doing this to her. He moved to run his nose along her jawline until he reached her ear, where he nibbled at it for a moment making her mewl, before releasing it and whispering, “Tell me.” So close that she could feel his lips mouthing the words against her ear.

“She as-asked what was-was going on with y-you and m-me…” She stuttered, her voice raspy, as her trembling hands moved up to clutch the collar of the T-shirt he was wearing.

“What did you say back to her?” Bellamy whispered to her, leaning his forehead against her temple and brushing his nose against her cheek, feeling the heat and softness.

“I s-said we were f-friends.” She said, the sadness and pain in her voice couldn’t be masked. Bellamy frowned. He’d didn’t like that answer…

“Were you telling the truth?” He murmured curiously, kissing her cheek, moving slowly down to the corner of her mouth, and kissing her there before pulling back just before he would have actually kissed her full on the mouth.

“N-no.” She gasped out, opening her eyes. Bellamy wondered whether she was saying no to having told the truth, or no that he had pulled away… He hoped it was both.

Her hands grasped the sides of his neck as she pulled him closer again, their foreheads coming to rest together as their eyes locked together. “I lied.” She said desperately, not a hint of shame was heard as she confessed to committing the sin. “We aren’t friends, we’re more… So much more. I’ve missed you this past week… Missed you so much, it hurts.” She choked out, “I’m sad and mad you ignored me… I’m smad damn it! And hurt.” She said cursing for the first time that Bellamy could actively remember in that moment. Her eyes were slightly watery, as she looked at him, but despite the anger and the hurt, she pulled him closer instead of pushing him away… “But it’s so hard to stay mad at you, when you’re here, holding me, and I see you, and your smiling, and you’re in my bubble whispering things to me, driving me crazy… Friends don’t feel for one another the way I feel for you, and I don’t know how to make it stop. I just can’t lose you Bellamy… You mean more to me than anyone else. I l-”

Bellamy cut her off again, this time silencing her with his mouth. Her lips were like a magnet to his own, even more so with the words they had just spoken, and would have spoken. He knew what she was about to say… _I love you._ Hell, she’d all but confessed it with her previously spoken words. The thing was, he couldn’t hear her say those words to him… He’d never be able to let her go. Ever. And at some point, he was going to have to leave her, and let her go. But that time had not come, so he did the only thing he could think of to get her to stop talking… Kiss her.

The moment her lips touched his, she gasped in shock giving Bellamy the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss and that soft gasp became a sweet moan as she kissed him back just as fervently. He felt like a starved man once more, this time the only thing to satiate that hunger was her. Everything about her in that moment overwhelmed his senses… Her taste, her smell, the feel of her, the sweet sounds she was making… All combining to drive him absolutely mad for her. He moved to push her up against the door of her apartment, continuing to ravage her mouth. One of her hands moved to his hair, tugging and pulling him closer to her so she could wrap her arm around his neck.

Bellamy began fumbling with the car keys he had in his hand, knowing one was the key to her door. Clarke pulled away long enough to say “Blue key.” Before she was back on him, kissing and biting at his neck while he unlocked the door. Once the door swung open, Bellamy hauled the small woman up into his arms by the back of her thighs and walked over the threshold into the dark empty apartment before slamming the door closed behind him with his foot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so today, like after I finish posting this chapter, I'm boxing up my laptop to be shipped of to get it fixed. Everything's been backed up, and I should have it back within a week or so, so the next update will probably come towards the end of February sometime, barring no unexpected complications. 
> 
> As for this chapter, what did you think about the flashback of their awkward "hang-out"? Bellamy's thoughtful gift? Maybe even just thoughts on the chapter in general? I should say this though, my motto for this story is and has always been, nothing is as it seems, and you all know that I have a tendency to do the opposite of what you expect. So, with that in mind, and how this chapter ended, you might want to change what you think will happen next chapter and not jump to conclusions. Anyone wanna try to guess though? Here, seeing as how you'll be waiting such an excruciatingly long time ;) I'll help you a bit, here is an excerpt from the next chapter... SPOILERS NEXT.
> 
> Just as he got to her door, stepping over the keys he had so unceremoniously dropped earlier, he heard her. His hand was on the door knob, turning it, when he heard her ask from behind him, weakly, “Where are you going?”
> 
> Turning his head slightly to the side, Bellamy shrugged, saying, “I don’t know.” If he was honest, he didn’t even really know what type of leaving he was doing. Just from her apartment? Or something more permanent, like leaving the city? Then there was the more drastic option of leaving the whole damn country… That idea was actually quite appealing in that moment. He just had to get away…
> 
> He opened the door slightly, and heard her call his name with a touch of franticness. He froze… It took everything in him not to turn around. He couldn’t be near her… He couldn’t be trusted around her… He was weak around her… Just a look, and he knew he’d cave. He could feel it.
> 
> “Please…” She said, the sound of tears in her voice added to her distressed.  
> END
> 
> Next chapter, we're gonna see both Bellamy and Clarke at their weakest, lowest, rawest selves, and decisions will be made that will impact them both for several chapters... But, it'll lead up to their reconciliation. Yay, right?
> 
> -Redhead17x (Come find me on tumblr under the same name!!)
> 
> PS- The premier was great, as I'm sure you all know. I usually do a live blog of the episodes, but I won't be on my top game this week seeing as how I'll be without a laptop... I'll be trying to use my phone with the app though.


	26. Weakness and Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.
> 
> Warnings: A bit racy, I guess. That should be it.

**Chapter 26- Weakness and Mistakes**

The door slammed close behind him as he continued to hold her, kissing any part of her he could. The keys in his hand dropped to the floor, and were completely forgotten about as they stood there in the middle of her entry way, kissing like two long lost lovers finally reunited.

He felt drunk on her… Absolutely intoxicated. A small voice in the back of his head whispered… _This is wrong_ , causing Bellamy to falter for a moment and pull away slightly, but she wasn’t letting him go anywhere.

“Bellamy…” Clarke murmured still breathing heavily, her voice so full of longing and want, it was impossible to ignore as her dark eyes opened to focus on him. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, one hand in his hair, the other on his neck as her nails scraped gently across his nape sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. She closed her eyes again as she brushed her nose against his in such a sweet intimate gesture, it made his already pounding heart, ache with the love he felt for her in that moment. He pulled her closer still, slanting his mouth back over hers, licking along the seam of her lips, making her open her mouth on a soft sigh.

How could this be wrong when it felt so right? _It is wrong…_ The voice whispered again. This time, Bellamy shoved it down and ignored it. Right or wrong, this is what they, _he_ , wanted. He was tired of sacrificing so much for everyone else… He just wanted this one moment with the woman he loved, and knowing that she loved and wanted him back, possibly as much as he wanted her, only seemed to push him higher. He stumbled, a little dizzy from it all… It felt so surreal. Was he dreaming? If he was, he never wanted to wake up. He moved to set her on the edge of the island breakfast-bar counter. She was the perfect height as he moved one hand to her waist, and the other to grip the back of her head, tilting it to the side and changing the angle to allow him better access.

Of the few kisses they had shared up to that moment, this was by far the most desperate… It was sloppy, and uncoordinated. She wrapped her legs around his waist and still tried to pull closer… It felt like no matter how close they were, it still wasn’t enough. She started tugging on his T-shirt, letting him know she wanted it gone, and, well, how could he tell her no?

Pulling away for a moment, Bellamy grabbed the collar at the back of his neck and swiftly pulled it over his head and off. Immediately, Clarke grabbed it from him and threw it somewhere off into the living room behind her. Pulling him back to her, she began running her warm hands from the tops of his shoulders, over his bare chest and down his abs… Stopping to trace the tattoos and scars there, as he just drank her in. Her hair was mussed from his hands, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her eyes were so dark with lust for him, the blue he loved so much was practically nonexistent. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her breathing was still heavy, and Bellamy couldn’t help but think she’d never been more beautiful.

She leaned forward suddenly to kiss his chest right over where his heart lay, just above where the pendant she gave him rested on his sternum, causing the air to whoosh out of his lungs once more at the deep unspoken gesture. Pulling away, she looked up at him, only to see him watching her with something close to dazed wonder… Slowly, she leaned up to kiss him on the lips again, this kiss being so much more controlled, unhurried, and precise… He could literally _feel_ her telling him everything through that one kiss. How much she missed him, how much she loved him, how much she wanted him, and not just to stay either, how sorry she was that things couldn’t be different…

_This. Is. Wrong!_ The whisper was now a shout in the forefront of his mind. He couldn’t ignore this warning… Because that’s what the voice was. A warning.

If they kept going, and oh how he wanted to keep going, it would be a mistake on so many levels. She was inebriated… How much, he couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. Point was, she was drunk. She was engaged, and that wasn’t changing. He was going to have to leave her eventually, even though she didn’t want him to and had begged him not to, and how could he leave her when he knew fully what it felt like to _be_ with her in every sense of the word? Just like before, with the ‘I love you’ he had cut off before it was fully spoken, this too had to be done… Had to be stopped before something _really_ happened, that they both had to suffer the consequences of it. If he had her, completely, he’d never let her go, the rest of the world be damned.

So, it was with great reluctance that Bellamy pulled away from her, both physically and emotionally. When Clarke realized what he was doing, she clung to him, her hands clutching his neck desperately and her legs tightening around his bare waist, pleading with him, “No, please. Don’t. I want you. I’ve missed you so much. Please, stop.”

Bellamy ignored her and removed her hands from his neck, one by one, kissing the palms of each before setting them gently in her lap. It was then that she let her legs fall, and he took two steps back, his back coming in contact with the cool refrigerator door… The chill served to further clear his desire filled mind, and help him get himself under control.

For a moment, everything was silent… They just stared at each other with something akin to disbelief. Disbelief that they’d just made out like a couple of high schoolers… Disbelief that it would have been more if he hadn’t pulled away when he did… Disbelief that he pulled away period…

“I’ve gotta leave… I’m so sorry.” Bellamy eventually choked out, knowing his apology was meant for more than just having to leave, but for starting all of this and dragging her into it and letting it get way out of hand and then for having to leave her the way he had to… Abruptly. He knew that’s what he had to do though, even as everything inside of him rebelled at the thought of leaving her. He turned and walked around her to her living room area, seeing his shirt on the back of one of the couches. She has gotten down from the counter and moved to the center of the apartment, watching him with a watery gaze as he quickly snatched his shirt up and threw it on, turning and heading for the front door, not daring to look at her as he passed. He just knew wouldn’t be leaving if he did.

Just as he got to her door, stepping over the keys he had so unceremoniously dropped earlier, he heard her. His hand was on the door knob, turning it, when he heard her ask from behind him, weakly, “Where are you going?”

Turning his head slightly to the side, Bellamy shrugged, saying, “I don’t know.” If he was honest, he didn’t even really know what type of leaving he was doing. Just from her apartment? Or something more permanent, like leaving the city? Then there was the more drastic option of leaving the whole damn country… That idea was actually quite appealing in that moment. He just had to get away…

He opened the door slightly, and heard her call his name with a touch of franticness. He froze… It took everything in him not to turn around. He couldn’t be near her… He couldn’t be trusted around her… He was weak around her… Just a look, and he knew he’d cave. He could feel it.

“Please…” She said, the sound of tears in her voice added to her distressed. “Take me with you? Right now, take me with you.” Her voice cracked a little asking the first question, but the second time she said it, she sounded more determined… More resolute.

Despite all his efforts to the contrary, Bellamy whirled around to face her, shocked at her words. He closed the door as he went, and immediately caught her as she jumped into his arms… She had been closer to him than he’d originally thought. He could see the tears that had fallen on her cheeks before her face disappeared into his neck, where he then felt them against his own skin. She was trembling in his arms, but she kept repeating, “Take me with you.”

“I can’t.” Bellamy said softly, putting her down and wiping her tears away. “You have to stay here...” He said a bit gruffer, hating the words coming out of his own mouth and barely being able to say them.

“No, I don’t… You can take me…” She said adamantly, gripping his hands that were still holding her face. Bellamy internally groaned that she was making it so hard for him to resist her… Making it so hard for him to do the right thing. “You and me,” She said, “We’ll leave. We can leave, and-and go where ever you want, and never look back!” She said looking up at him, smiling despite the tear tracks that were still visible on her face. She looked so happy at the thought of it, but it was obvious she was coming completely off the cuff with her words. “We can leave this horrible life behind, and all the stuff that had happened in the last week and a half. I’ll go wherever you go, and we’ll be able to be together. Isn’t that what you want?” She asked, her excited hopeful expression fading as doubt and hurt start to seep in at his own lack of response. “Do you not want me anymore?” She asked, her eyes watering again, as she tried to step back away from his hold.

Bellamy didn’t let her go though, cupping her face fiercely, but gently, not wanting to hurt her, “Want you?!” He almost growled. “I _crave_ you. I have to use all the restraint I have not to steal you away like a thief in the dead of night. You don’t know what you’re asking of me… What you’re saying.” He said breathing harshly, gritting his teeth as her words tried to take root in his mind. They _couldn’t_ do as she was suggesting… _It. Was. Wrong._

The irrational side of Bellamy, who was listening very intently to what she was saying and agreeing to every word, rebelled as the virtuous words were repeated over again like a mantra. He had done many wrong things in his life… Committed may sins and immoral acts… This would in no way be the worst thing he ever did, leaving with her, but still, something was stopping him, and like before in his office, the rational side came to save the day showing him memories of his guys, and his grandmother… He couldn’t do this because it would kill them. Literally.

Clarke blinked up at him owlishly. “Yes. I. Do.” She said speaking slowly, as if he wasn’t comprehending what she was saying. “I know what I’m saying… I want us, you and me, to leave. Run away together. I made a mistake agreeing to that deal. I was wrong, and I can’t go through with it. I’d be marrying the wrong man…” She said, and Bellamy dropped his hands from her face like he’d been burned. He took another step back, closing his eyes and turning his head to the side, futilely wishing he could unhear the words she had just spoken. He _knew_ all of that… He didn’t need her to confirm it for him! Hell, _hearing_ it said from her own lips, made _knowing_ it was true ten times worst.

“Come on Bellamy…” She said drawing nearer, her hands coming up to cup his cheeks like he’d just done her, only more gentle and comforting. She drew his face down so he would look at her and how could he resist? She’s all he ever wanted to look at… But one could only look at the sun for so long before becoming blind. “We could travel all over the world together, or we could settle down somewhere quiet and remote. The point is, we would be together.” She was a siren, a temptress of the highest order, created just for him, singing the very song he most wanted to hear… Enticing him with what he wanted most in the world. Her.

Bellamy closed his eyes again. He could see it. He could see it all… Them being happy and together. It would be absolute bliss. There was no doubt about it. No abhorrent engagements, or marriages for that matter, to other people. They could do anything they wanted… Go anywhere they wanted. They’d never have to work with all the money he had, and they could spend every moment of everyday together. It would be their very own paradise… But…

Then several mental images assaulted him, slamming him seemingly all at once, each getting progressively worst… His company tanking, and tens of thousands of people being out of work with families to support at home and no work to be found in the current economy. His grandmother having a fatal heart attack when the news was told to her that both he and Clarke had disappeared, and that a hit had been put out on them both. Then, lastly, his guys all lines up in a dark cold place, forced to their knees, and guns held to the back of their heads… Not one begging for their life or looking anything but fierce as they were all executed with eight loud gunshots.

Funeral after funeral floated through his mind… So many people would be hurt and die… His family and hers…

That’s why they couldn’t do this. That’s why it was wrong. That’s why he had to stay strong, and not give in to this temptation.

When Bellamy opened his eyes, steadfast as ever in his resolve to stay the course he’d been on, she was still looking up at him with that damn hopeful expression. Before he could say anything, her hands dropped from his face, and she quickly covered her mouth while she yawned. She blinked back up at him several times, no trace of tears in her eyes, even as they lingered on her damp cheeks. He noticed her swaying a little where she stood. That small act more than anything brought Bellamy back to reality.

She was obviously exhausted, and she’d been drinking earlier in the evening… There was no way she was in her right mind suggesting this. Another reason he was right not to consider any of it. Bellamy knew her words and hopes and thoughts probably came from a deep dark place within her, a place that rarely ever saw the light of day, and that had she not been under the influence of the wine, and perhaps a little more rested, she wouldn’t be saying the things she was now. It was a moment of weakness. A mistake. Nothing more.

“You should go to sleep.” Bellamy said, guiding her over to her bed, and stopping a few feet away, gently pushing her to continue on and keep walking, until she was sitting on the edge.

“No… We have to finish this conversation…” She said looking up at him as he hovered feet away.

“We will…” He said. “After you’ve rested, and the alcohol is gone from your system.” Perhaps she’d even forget everything that had happened and what was said. Wouldn’t that be a real sucker punch to the gut? Albeit, a very welcome one.

She narrowed her gaze on him. “You think I only said what I said because I was a little tipsy.”

Bellamy shrugged. She wasn’t wrong. “Amongst other things.”

“Well, I’m not Bellamy Blake.” She said with a glare. “The alcohol just gave me the courage to say everything… I’m fully coherent and aware of what I’m talking about and saying.”

“Good then…” Bellamy said with an irritating smirk. “You won’t mind if we shelf this conversation for another time, then will you?”

She gave him a dirty look, knowing he had her, but it faltered a moment later, when she said, “I’m just afraid you’ll disappear on me again…”

Bellamy didn’t say anything to reassure her, not having the strength to. “Go to sleep Clarke.” He said resignedly, going to turn away.

“Wait!!” She exclaimed jumping up again, and stumbling a little into the nightstand, using that as a crutch to hold herself up.

“What?” He asked warily, rolling his shoulders in the hopes of releasing a little of the tension there.

“Stay.” She said quietly, her big eyes focused on him, silently pleading with him to say yes. “Just the night.”

Bellamy opened his mouth tell her no, when she interrupted him, saying, “I promise, I won’t touch you, and we don’t have to talk anymore. Just…” She paused. “For one night… It’s all I ask. Please.”

He was never going to get through this… Not with the way she affected him. He _wanted,_ desperately, to give her everything she asked for, simply because he wanted her to be happy, but where was the line? The line between what made her happy versus what broke him and made him suffer so acutely… There had to be a line, yet, Bellamy couldn’t think of one. It was only when the lives and wellbeing’s of others factored in that he couldn’t bring himself to do whatever it took to make her happy, and that angered him more than words could say. Yet, other than that, there was nothing that he could think of that he wouldn’t do for her, even if it was to his own detriment… He would give his very life for her.

He turned back to her, and nodded, not being able to look into her blue eyes. “I’ll stay…” He said lowly, the silent _For now_. spoken only in his mind. He couldn’t run away with her, but he could stay the night with her, even though the thought pained him more than any gunshot wound to the chest ever could… He had wished for just one more of everything with her. One more kiss, one more soft look, one more touch, one more laugh, one more time holding her, and one more night together, even if it they could do nothing but look at each other before falling asleep. They say be careful what you wish for, and Bellamy had truly started to regret wishing for those things, because now, they were all happening… The last of everything. Once they were done, they were gone… Forever. It couldn’t be ‘just one more’, because he’d already used those up. There would be no more wishes, and no more chances.

Bellamy honestly couldn’t tell what was more painful… Knowing these ‘one lasts’ were happening, and trying to savor and treasure them despite the pain radiating throughout his whole being, or not knowing they were the last, and treating them like every other great moment and memory they’d had. It didn’t matter in the end… They were happening, and he knew it, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Not really.

Bellamy motioned for her to climb into the bed. After she had curled up under the covers on her side facing him, sans her shoes which she had kicked off, Bellamy moved slowly to lie on his back beside her, on top of the comforter with his shoes kicked off too. He turned his head to the side to look at her, and he saw that already Clarke’s eyes were having a hard time staying open. She lay there for a good five minutes or so, looking at him while desperately fighting the sleep her body was trying to force on her, before succumbing and finally resting… The whole time, her eyes were focused on him, as if trying to memorize everything about him. He knew all too well what she was doing, because he was doing the exact same thing.

**_XxxX_ **

He lay there for hours in a trance, just staring at her sleeping form. He was sure if she woke at that moment, she’d joke with him about his creepy behavior and tease him, making him laugh… Or maybe not. That was something Before Clarke would have done… Before the contract that is, that arranged for her marriage. Bellamy quickly shut the thought down, going back to gazing at her with the moonlight streamed into the apartment bathing her in a soft light.

Logically, he knew he should sleep. He hadn’t been sleeping all that much, or well for that matter, over the last week or so, and he should take advantage of the fact that this was his one last chance to sleep beside the woman he loved before he had to let her go for good. He was exhausted quite frankly… But the longer he lay there, the more awake and alert he became, and the more his mind became preoccupied with the words spoken earlier in the evening and less on the angel sleeping beside him. His mind raced, never settling on one thing for too long before it jumped on another thought and took off in a different direction. Bellamy became more maddened by his thoughts as the minutes rolled on, and drew his gaze from Clarke, who looked to be resting peacefully, and lifted his head to look at the clock on the stove across the apartment. 4:34 A.M.

Bellamy dropped his head gently back to the pillow and scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. He didn’t know what to do, and he couldn’t just lay there any longer, so he gently got up from the bed, making sure not to disturb Clarke as she slumbered on, unaware and unhindered of the turmoil that raged within him. As he stood there by the bed watching her for a moment, all he could think of is how he wished he could just shut down completely like that… No thoughts, no dreams, just sweet oblivious unconsciousness.

Soundlessly he moved away from the side of the bed, and wondered about the apartment… He couldn’t seem to sit or stand still for nothing, nor stop his mind from thought jumping. Everywhere he looked, some small thing reminded him of a memory that they had created together… The entry way where she always told him to take off his shoes and coat to get comfortable for their evening in. The kitchen where they had so many conversations while making dinner and laughing at the silly stories told by the other... The counter where she sat that one night, cutting fruit as he made her late night pancakes, stealing quick kisses and pieces of fruit, just being deliriously happy to have her finally be his. The couch where they had huddled together for so many weeks, watching whatever she wanted on T.V. and her falling asleep on him numerous time, always being comfortable enough in his presence to do so. All the nights he had carried her to bed as she cuddled closer to him in his arms, sighing his name so sweetly it made him physically weak. He could picture it all so clearly that it played out right in front of his very eyes, and he was unable to do anything but just watch as though he was nothing more than a spectator.

Remembering all the good times, and the laughter, and the happiness, caused his chest to split open and pain to flow once more knowing those were just memories, and there would never be new ones. The past was painful to think of, the present was painful to live in, and that in turn made him think of the future… Of what was coming. It didn’t take a psychic to know it was going to be equally, if not more so, painful than everything else.  After several minutes of his wondering about, he found himself at the foot of the bed, gazing upon her sleeping form once more.

That too did not last long, and he eventually began to pace, hoping to expel some of the pent up emotions and worry and energy in his body. As he paced at the foot of the bed, Bellamy thought about what he was going to do when she woke up, and found him there… What if she remembered everything, and had been serious about leaving with him? What if she wanted to finish that conversation, and still insisted on them leaving together? How was he going to face her and tell her that he, that _they_ , couldn’t do that?

_You don’t have to tell her no…_ The words were nothing but a whisper from deep inside his heart, where his darkest desires were kept locked away tightly and repressed. That single thought, so powerful, slipped out and caused Bellamy to waver once more in his fight against himself. Knowing, rationally, that they couldn’t leave together and just forget the rest of the world, didn’t stop him from thinking about it and running over the different scenarios of if they did just that. In that one moment of hesitation, of weakness, Bellamy’s irrational side took over, and he saw once again the joyful life they could have together if they left… Why did he have to be the one to sacrifice so much? Hadn’t he already given up so much in his life? Why did he have to give her up too?

Suddenly, words from what felt like long ago but in reality had only been a week or two, echoed in his ears… _She deserves someone who will fight the world and all its cruelties for her._ Those words, his own words, spoken to Miller about Katie, aptly applied here… Clarke did deserve someone like that, and more. He desperately wanted to be that person for her… To whisk her away from this place, and from these people, just like she asked him to, but at what cost?

There were of course the lives of his guys and grandmother, and his company, all at jeopardy… Bellamy flinched as his mind automatically conjured the images from earlier. But… There was also something, perhaps even greater, at stake if he gave in and took her away… Their very relationship itself.

Bellamy broke out in a cold sweat. If they left, and something happened to her family and they were hurt, or worst dead, which would inevitably happen in the wake of their leaving, the relationship they fought, risked, and sacrificed so much for would crumble to dust and be lost in the wind. Oh, they’d be happy… At first that is. Being together is all that would matter in the beginning, but as news eventually started to roll in to whatever small corner of the world they carved out for themselves, they’d be faced once more with the consequences of their actions… It would come in the form of obituaries, and headlines that would read ‘Billionaire Business Tycoon Still Missing as Empire Begins to Fall’ or ‘Mafia Wars Rage On, Turning Bloodier by the Day’. The guilt they’d both feel would destroy them both as individuals, and there would be no sanctuary to be found in each other and their relationship, because that to would be in shambles too. Eventually, she’d grow to resent her decision to leave with him, and him by extension… He could manage, just barley, being separated from her and not seeing her… At least he thought he could. He also thought he could even manage her loving him, and him not being there to love her back the way she deserved, but to have her resent him, and eventually grow to hate him because of a stupid thoughtless in-the-moment mistake? No. That couldn’t happen. He’d rather die a thousand deaths than see that day come.

Bellamy stopped his quiet pacing as Clarke shifted in the bed, rolling onto her back, and turning her head to the window… One of her hands fell across the bed to rest in the empty space that Bellamy had occupied earlier, and, despite his absence, she didn’t wake, thankfully. Breathing out the breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding, Bellamy turned around, his back to her, and planted his hands on the back of the big sofa, leaning heavily on it… What to do, what to do… All the options he had, quite frankly, sucked. The trick was to pick the one that sucked less. Bellamy rolled his eyes and scoffed quietly as his own thoughts. Options. He was deluding himself if he thought he had any real ones. He knew deep down what he had to do, but still, he was frantic to come up with another solution… Another way than the obvious one.

The blue blinking light on the television receiver drew Bellamy’s attention, not just to the light, but to the movie case sitting on top of the black box. He could just make out the letters spelling, _Romeo and Juliet_. A small smile came to his lips as he remembered how he’d protested and complained at her girlie movie choice the night they sat down to watch a movie. He had never enjoyed the works of Shakespeare, and hadn’t cared to watch the latest movie adaption of one of his most famous plays… Of course, his princess had won out in the end, and in a way he did too, getting to hold her and cuddle her close as she sniffled and teared up at the separation and death scenes. Truthfully, Bellamy had just never understood Shakespeare, and thought him a bit daft, but now in the light of his own circumstances, Bellamy could comprehend it all quite a bit more, seeing as how he was practically living the heartbreaking play… Star crossed lovers, separated and unable to be together due to their fathers and who their families were. If Romeo felt for Juliet, even a fraction of the fierce and fervent love he felt for Clarke, then Bellamy could understand completely why the story ended as tragically as it did. He wouldn’t want to live in a world without his beloved either… Just thinking of her demise sent a pang of despair through his chest. As long as Bellamy knew Clarke was out there in the world, still breathing and living, he’d make it on his own. He had to… For her he would.

Tearing his eyes from the movie case, Bellamy pushed off the couch and turned around to lean on the back of it. He once more took up his silent watchful vigil, the anxiety in his being not at all lessened by his thoughts.

Once again questions and bitter thoughts clouded his mind. How had they gotten to this point? Why did this happen to them, of all people? Was it a punishment from God? Where did it all go wrong? _It had been too good to be true_ … _Like a dream._ Not knowing where it came from, an unbidden thought came to him, and Bellamy briefly wondered if that last statement was what Hades thought when he was commanded to send Persephone back to the land of the living… Back to the pressure of her mother, and the cruel loneliness of the life she had before. Is that not what had happened to them? Was that not what he was sending her back to by refusing to leave and take her with him? The bitter difference between them was, Hades was lucky… Bellamy didn’t have any magical pomegranate seeds to give to Clarke to keep her with him, even if it was just for a few months out of the year. No, if Damian knew what he was doing, she would more than likely be another man’s wife within that time… His despised half-brother’s wife. Just the very thought made his stomach roll with nausea.

He felt caged in… Not necessarily by the apartment, but by his limited, practically nonexistent options… Stay or go? Climb back into the bed with her, or walk out the front door alone, because he couldn’t take her with him… That much was painfully clear.

Staying was quite actually the more difficult and painful of the two decisions. He had been so weak before, when he’d offered to take her home. He should have just let her take a cab, or found a way to get her to stay at his grandmother’s house. Instead, he’d foolishly taken her home, let his guard down while her’s was all but obliterated by exhaustion and alcohol, and he’d kissed her. He’d been strong the whole week, yet, the minute he saw her earlier that day, he crumbled and fell apart. That couldn’t happen again… Ever. If he stayed and that type of thing continued, it would become a repetitive cycle of ruin for them both, that would just hurt them both more and more each time it happened. As much as it killed him to admit, she had to get over him and move on to focus on what was ahead of her, without having him always being right there waiting to get even a drop of her attention, reminding her of the past and the ‘what could have been’s’. As for himself, well, he had to enact some type of self-preservation instincts because he died a little more inside every time he saw her, looked at her, or even thought of her, knowing she wasn’t his, and had to acknowledge that fact out loud to others or inwardly to himself. He didn’t share, and it wasn’t in her nature to cheat, no matter whom it was on or whom it was with, so it wasn’t like they could actually carry on with a relationship on the side, outside of her marriage to Finn… Even though he couldn’t fathom it now, Bellamy did know that if they did try to force an affair, he’d become the one to resent their relationship, and maybe with time, even her as well.

However, staying on as he did now, completely uninvolved with her, meant he’d be forced to watch his girl, the one he loved more than his own life, marry Finn, bare his children, care for him, and feed him… Even worst, he’d have to sit by and watch from a distance as she forgot or ignored all her feelings for him, like he’d have to try do with his own for her… If he didn’t actually succeed in forgetting or ignoring his feelings for her, which was more than just a major likelihood (more like a guarantee), he’d have to pretend like he did and put up such good ruse that it would fool God himself. Then of course was the possibility that Clarke, forgetting all about her love for him, could actually fall in love with her husband instead, the man she was forced to marry… He had seen that happen with his father. Damian grew to love Vanessa, horribleness and all, in his own way, despite their rough start, forced marriage, and his love for Bellamy’s mother. Bellamy felt he might actually die if he was forced to bear witness to any of that.

Where did that leave him then? He couldn’t take her away, and he certainly couldn’t stay. Despair and defeat settled around him like a straightjacket… He knew this was coming, and despite his efforts to fight it and find another way, he knew it would come to this. Deep down, he always knew this would never work… He knew this would all have to come to an end eventually, both the relationship and the idea of them being friends. All Bellamy could see that was left for him to do now was to leave, for good this time, without her, and to stay away. That meant not being around her or running into her at events, meetings, parties, or, hell, even randomly on the streets. No seeing her what-so-ever… Even from a distance. Sterling would stay on as her protection detail, but he would no longer get reports about anything she did, unless an emergency or threat came up… Only then would he, unknowingly to her or anyone else, step in and help her, before quietly slipping back into the shadows without anyone the wiser. He would kill for her… He would die for her… Those were both so easy to do really. However, now he had to take on the excruciatingly difficult task of living for her, but without her.

The only real question now was how and when to say goodbye…

Looking at the clock once more and seeing the numbers read, 5:56 AM, Bellamy longed to slip back into the bed with her and hold her _just one last time._ She’d be so warm and soft from sleep… She’d curl right into his arms, tucking her head into his neck as one of her hands came to rest on his chest… She’d sigh in contentment…

_Leave_ , His subconscious whispered, knocking Bellamy right out of his fantasy, _before you hurt her and yourself even more_. It was with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that Bellamy knew the little voice was right. He couldn’t slip in to the bed with her, because he’d fall asleep and have to face her in the morning to try and explain his logic, rationale, and decision to her, which she’d never understand and might even try to talk him out of, which, his weak-willed self would allow without a fight. No, he had to leave now before she got up, and make sure that he cut her out completely… For both their sakes. It was perfectly clear to Bellamy their only real weakness lay with the other, thus it was for the good of both of them to never see or have contact with the other… But how to tell her that… Knowing the when he had to leave her, left him with the how…

A somber plan came to him, and he grudgingly began implementing it, knowing it was the best he could come up with, short notice, and with the nature of what he was doing being so grim… No goodbye he could ever think of would ever be prefect enough, because perfection meant not having to do it in the first place, which was an impossibility as he’d well established. At the same time, he was not yet so cruel and heartless as to just walk out, leave her nothing explaining things and leave her wondering where they stood and the status of their relationship… Which was now nonexistent.

After messaging Jones, telling him to bring what he needed and that he needed to be picked up as well, Bellamy moved across the apartment to the empty window seat that was her favorite drawing spot. He slipped her drawing journal from its hidden spot under the large cushion spanning the booth. Yeah, he knew her ‘secret’ hiding spot. Grabbing a black ink pen from the cup on one of the shelves by the window, Bellamy sat in the living room on the small couch so he could still see Clarke sleeping in the bad across the apartment.

Bellamy opened the journal to the last two pages, and quietly tore the clear blank sheets out, before closing the book and setting it on the coffee table away from him. As much as he longed to look through the drawings in the book, knowing he’d never get a chance to see them ever again, Bellamy resisted, not wanting to invade her privacy like that and knowing he didn’t have the time.

Despite his time restraint, Bellamy had a hard time starting the letter off, not really knowing what to say or where to start. Finally, he decided to just start writing what came to him. Using the coffee table, he began to write from the heart all the things he wanted to say to her, and would never again get the chance too.

_Clarke,_

_As I sit here and write you this letter, I can’t help but look over to see you sleeping so peacefully, and fear it will be quite a long time before you ever sleep as such again. I don’t know if you will wake up blissfully ignorant of the things said and done last night, or wake up fully enlightened… All I know is when you wake up, I will be gone, and things will have irreparably changed once again. I admit to having a hard time right now, figuring out a way to tell you why and how things are going to change, knowing the change with be negative for us both, and I can’t comfort you or tell you everything is going to be okay. I actually can’t think of anything more important to tell you right now than I’m sorry… I am just so unbelievably sorry. It seems to me that I have so many things to apologize to you for that I can’t even begin to list them all out here for you, for lack of room and time, but, I can tell you some of the biggest things I regret and lament over, and hope that you will forgive me one day for all the wrongs I have committed against you. That I can’t even give you these apologies to your face, because I am a weak man, I too must also beg of your forgiveness. Believe me when I say that I didn’t want or intend for this last farewell to be so sorrowful when sat down to write it, but unfortunately, many of my original plans have been thwarted and gone awry these days, so why not this too?_

_First, I must ask forgiveness for all the broken promises I leave behind in the wake of this letter, both to you, and the one’s I made to myself in regards to you. I promised you that you could trust me, and I see now that you can’t… Your trust in me was misplaced, and I’m sorry I mislead you, it was completely unintentional on my part. I vowed to myself long ago that I would never let anyone hurt you or anything happen to you, and that I would move heaven and earth keep you safe, but I failed on all three accounts by letting your mother and father as well as my own father trap you in a marriage you don’t want… As for keeping you safe, well, I will always strive for that goal, no matter where you or I are in this world. Regrettably, I won’t be here to see to it personally that fate doesn’t snatch you away before you are old and grey, so even though I have no right to ask (and I know you already will), please be careful, and be safe. I am also breaking the promise I made to you that we could be friends… I was lying and deceiving not just you, but myself as well, when I told you we could be just friends. In my small, almost absent defense, at the time, I thought we could be friends and that it would get better with time, but hindsight is everything, and I see my mistake… Again, I am sorry._

_Secondly, I must apologize for all the wasted time, and time I thought we would have together, but obviously didn’t. I’m sorry that so much of the actual time we spent together was innocent, because I was blind and a coward to the feelings you invoked in me. Another thing I regret so acutely is that I turned your father down on his offer to move out west so many years ago, because we would have met a lot earlier in life and none of this might have ever happened. I want you to know that this thing, what we had, was never a temporary thing for me… I had plans, a future, mapped out for us, and it kills me that I will never be able to follow through on those plans. I won’t be able to take you back to finish exploring the Met, or take you to see Rockefeller Center all lit up at Christmas time. I won’t be able to take you on that trip in August, and even though I won’t be around, I still want you to go, and take someone with you who’s going to make you smile and laugh, and just remember the whole time that the beauty and awe you see looking at those real life paintings, is what I saw and felt a thousand times over every time I looked at you. I know how sappy and cliché that sounded, but it is the complete, God’s honest, truth._

_I am sorry for all the things left unsaid between us, like that conversation you may have woken up with in mind to finish, but I knew it would be better to make a clean break, which is why you wake to this letter instead, and not me. I’m also sorry for the things that couldn’t be said between us, like a proper formal goodbye… I want you to know that I wanted so desperately to hear the words you were ready to say last night, but, I couldn’t let you say them because, again, I am a weak man when it comes to you… I would have done anything and everything you asked of me, including to stay, just to hear you say those words to me over and over again._

_Lastly, I won’t ask for forgiveness for this deed, because I know it is simply unforgivable, even for you my heart, but the biggest thing I have to apologize for is that I have to leave you now. I have exhausted every avenue that I can think of trying to find a way to get you out of this deal or find a way for us to still be together like we were before, and I have failed. I have come up empty handed, and for that, I am the sorriest I will ever be about anything in my entire life. I never wanted to leave you… I still don’t… But I have to do what’s best for you and for me. I know how much you hate others making decisions for you, and even with that in mind, I’m making this decision for the both of us. You spoke words a week or so ago that I now find couldn’t be so wrong, yet so true… Love is weakness… You and I, specifically, are each other’s weaknesses. But even with that being known, the reason I sit here at this table writing you this letter is because even though you are my greatest weakness, you are my greatest source of strength. It is because of you and for you that I can and have made this tough decision, to leave. I know being around me must cause you pain, and I can’t bear to be the source of it. If I can’t save you from everything else, I can at least spare you from the pain me and my presence in your life creates. You have a whole future ahead of you, and as much as it pains me to acknowledge, I don’t fit anywhere in it. If I tried, it would only hurt us both, and cause resentment to fester, and I don’t want that… If I can’t have you now and in the future, I at least want to be able to look back and think about you years down the line with nothing but happy memories, not bitter ones. You must see that if I did stay, you would eventually have push me away for one reason or another, and it would hurt us both even more, so I am doing us both the favor and creating the clean break and distance now so we don’t face even more heartbreak and agony later on. I regret to say that I can’t even promise we won’t ever meet again, though I will make all the efforts to ensure we don’t, so we don’t lose all the progress we make with our separation or bring back old hurts that will hopefully ease with time._

_Even though I know I should probably have ended this here, I find that I can’t. I feel you should know these things which I am about to write, so you will know I was earnest in my feelings for you, that I meant everything I ever said to you, and that I wanted things for us to turn out so different… Firstly, amongst all the things I’m sorry for, meeting you and getting to know you isn’t one of them. From the moment I met you, I knew you were special. I knew you were going to change me, make me a better man, and you have. I love you with my whole being, Princess… I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that it first started, I can’t even claim I loved you from the first moment I met you, because, I think I was born just to love you, and I know deep down, there will never be anyone else for me. I will miss you every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, for the rest of my life… Even now, I feel the anguish of missing you, and I’m still right here in your presence, able to see you and hear the breaths you take. I will never stop wanting you, even though I know I can’t have you, and wishing that things had been different and that the timing would have worked for us. Another lesson I carry with me from this whole ordeal is, timing is everything, and, as horrible and soul crushing as it is, we could just never seem to get our timing right… It was my fault it was too slow in the middle, our parents fault it was too fast at the end, and again my fault it’s too abrupt now at the finish. When I first met you and started to know you, I thought, the stars and the planets had all aligned for me by luck… I now know it was grace that gave me the time I had with you. You’re the angel that found me in the middle of the chaos that is my life, and gave me happiness and contentment, the likes of which I have never known nor will ever know again, and I’ll always be grateful to you for giving me that… The key I guess, will be to try to always be thankful for the little time we did have together, and not spiteful and resentful that we didn’t have more…_

_I am a selfish man by nature Clarke… It’s what kept me coming back to you in the beginning if we’re being perfectly honest… I couldn’t give you up and let you go, and even though that’s essentially what I’m trying to do here, I still can’t bring myself to show a tenth of the selfless you show daily. I can’t bring myself to tell you that I want you to get over me and move on with Finn, and love him like a wife is supposed to love a husband, because I would, again, be lying to you, and I think I’ve done enough of that in regards to you to last a life time. I’ll never be the man who wishes you luck and gives his blessing while you’re in the arms of another man… I can’t and I’m sorry. What I do want for you however, is to be happy. I want you to laugh and smile every day even though I won’t be there to see it or be the cause of it, and I want you to live your life to the fullest even with the circumstances you find yourself in. Though the thought of you forgetting me, or no longer loving me, kills me, if that’s what it takes for you to be able to move on from the past, and be able to live in the present and future, then you do whatever it takes. If that means you have to become angry with me or even hate me, do it if it makes your new life and future easier to bear… I want you to know that I never have, nor ever will, hate you for anything… I can’t when I love you as much as I do, so don’t ever think or fear that I do._

_Know that I’m missing you, and that I love you with everything that I am..._

_Bellamy_

Two pages’, front and back, written in his cursive scrawl, with his love and signature at the bottom…

Pathetic.

She deserved more, yet all he had to show for all she had given him and offer her in return were these wretched, pitiful words.

Shaking his head in disgust at himself, Bellamy folded both pages over twice ‘til it was a rectangle before feeling his phone vibrated in his pocket and slipping it out seeing a message from Jones that he was right outside the door. Bellamy quietly stood, leaving everything where it was, and padded over to the door. He silently opened the door, careful not to make a noise that could wake the sleeping woman in the bed across the apartment. Despite the early morning hour, Jones stood there in the hallway, completely alert, holding out the two things his boss asked him to bring. Bellamy took both objects with a nod of thanks and told him to wait downstairs in the car for him, that he wouldn’t be long. With a brisk nod and another quick glance to make sure his boss was okay, Jones disappeared down the hall, worried about how pale the other man was and how his hand shook slightly taking the two things from him…

Bellamy closed the door with a soft click, and leaned against it for a moment, taking a deep breath before steeling himself for the final stages of the goodbye. Turning he walked back to the living room, taking the envelope Jones had brought him and tucking his letter inside, not bothering to seal it… He wrote _Clarke_ on the front, and gathered everything up. He put the journal and the pen back where he got them, wanting to leave everything like he’d never even been there. He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed two ibuprofen pills and a bottle of water from the refrigerator, before walking over to the bed and arranging everything he was leaving her out on the nightstand. After that was done, Bellamy took a cursory look around the apartment… He was going to miss this place, but as his eyes rested back on her sleeping form, all he could think was, _I’m going to miss her even more_. Taking the chance, Bellamy leaned over the bed and kissed her cheek, taking a quick second to enjoy the softness and warmth of her skin and her unique scent… Lavender, and something else he could never identify… Pulling back, he waited with baited breath, and when she didn’t stir, he released it. The sun was just beginning to rise, causing light to filter into the apartment, and he knew his time was up… He had to go.

He quickly slipped on his shoes, and started for the door, only to pause two steps away. Other than a few pictures and his own memories, he had nothing to remember her by… After contemplating his silly thought, Bellamy gave in and slipped over to her closet, grabbing one of her dark blue hospital scrub shirts… It had her name monogrammed on it over the left chest, and it smelled just like her. He didn’t think she’d notice this _one_ was gone amongst all the others hanging there, so he took it with him, once more heading for the door and reaching it successfully this time. Opening the door was harder this time around… He didn’t want to leave. He felt hollow inside, not just emotionally and mentally, but physically as well. It felt like he didn’t have a beating heart, or lungs that could breathe for him… Turning back _one last time,_ Bellamy saw everything he’d left on her nightstand… The two pills and water closest to the bed… The letter propped up on the nightstand lamp… His silver saint metal necklace lying beside the letter… Lastly was the flower resting right in front of the letter and pendant… A single stripped carnation, meaning _refusal_ , _Sorry I can't be with you._ , and _I wish l could be with you._

As he locked the doorknob and closed the door behind him, it all seemed to finally hit him… He’d left her. He left his heart, and he felt completely empty inside. Bellamy’s free hand automatically came up to rub the saint metal she gave him, looking for the comfort that always came from feeling the words she wrote to him brushing against the pad of his thumb, but upon finding it missing and remembering that he left it with his heart, well, that just broke and splintered him even more. It felt as though he was on autopilot as he walked downstairs, his body going through the motions of what he subconsciously knew he needed to do, but the whole time his mind kept asking one thing… _What did I just do?_

**_XxxX_ **

Sunday passed in a blur it seemed, but it was still not fast enough for Bellamy. While the emptiness didn’t fade, more emotions came to the surface, battering him like waves in a storm… Hopelessness, misery, despondency, and pure despair all descended upon him, and he struggled to cope with it all. He slept horribly for a few hours when he got back to his apartment, woken by the nightmare of her picking up the letter and reading his despicable words before collapsing in anguished sobs at his betrayal and screaming she hated him for doing that to her. He ate some food, only for the purpose of keeping his energy levels up… It had no taste and felt like sawdust in his dry mouth. He ignored calls from his guys, his grandmother, his uncle, Lincoln, Jake, and lastly his father… All of them wanting and expecting something different from him, but he felt that he had nothing left to give anyone, so he ignored them all. When he was alerted by the front desk that his father was downstairs with Vanessa demanding to see him, Bellamy gave the okay for them to be sent up, while quickly grabbing what he needed and escaping down the emergency exit stairs.

He wandered around for who knows how many hours in Central Park… Even then though, the memories of his time there with Clarke accosted him, and it became too much to bear, so he continued walking _trying_ not to think of her, and failing. Eventually Bellamy found himself standing on the street opposite of Clarke’s apartment… He didn’t remember making the conscious decision to go there. Rule number one was never return to the scene of the crime, yet, there he stood in jeans and a dark hoodie covering his head looking up at the windows of her apartment, wanting to catch a glimpse of her, but at the same time praying he didn’t.

Upon close inspection, Bellamy saw that there was no movement in the windows and the dark apartment looked uninhabited. But, just because it looked empty, didn’t mean that was actually the case. Bellamy wondered if she was up there right that moment… He wondered what she was doing or what she was thinking… Had she read his letter? Was she furious with him, or hate him? Was she even awake? He didn’t know what the exact time was, but the sun was slowly lowering in the sky, so sometime in the late afternoon maybe? She had to be awake, unless she was still sleeping to avoid things… The letter, his absence when she woke, her surely pounding head... God, he hoped she was taking care of herself…

Then there was of course the option that he was looking at just an empty apartment, and she had gone to church that morning and stayed out the whole day, or that maybe she had been called in to the hospital. He didn’t know, he just knew he missed her and hated himself for hurting her, even if it was for her own good and the preservation of his own well-being.

Turning away, Bellamy began walking back through the park, towards his apartment. He was slow, taking his time, yet being aware of his surroundings… He didn’t want to repeat the mistake he made last time he was there to get away to think, even though it turned out to be the best thing to happen to him in his life.

As he walked, Bellamy knew he should be at his apartment thinking and making plans for his departure from the city he had called home for over two thirds of his life. He had to get the ball rolling on moving right away, because that was going to take a year minimum to move, and that was being optimistic. But as he thought of it all and what he had to do, more and more questions invade his thoughts… Where is it he’d be moving to? Who was coming with him? When were they going to leave officially and never come back? What would they take? How would it happen? How long would it actually take? Would it be successful? How big of a hit would this move be to his company?

As these questions circled in his mind, they faded to the background as he thought of _her_ again, wondering if she was okay in that moment, wherever she was, doing whatever she was doing. As much as he wished he didn’t want to, he wondered if she missed him as much as he already missed her. He knew he was brooding, and moping a little, but after everything, Bellamy figured he could at least take the day for himself to pine for everything he lost, and get back to the real world tomorrow. It briefly occurred to him that he was in the last stage of grief… Acceptance. The real question was, _What came after acceptance?_ All Bellamy wanted to do was sleep dreamlessly through the years he knew it was going to take, until he could play through his memories of her without the hollow ache in his chest threatening to swallow him whole and consume him ‘til nothing was left.

As he wandered over Bow Bridge, Bellamy stopped at the stone railing, wanting to further delay his return to his suffocating prison of an apartment… There was a light breeze blowing off the water, ruffling Bellamy’s hair, and throwing it in his eyes. Running his hand through it to brush it out of the way, Bellamy dropped his hand and clutched the stone barrier, recalled how much Clarke seemed to love running her hands through it… If he focused hard enough, he could almost feel her fingers slipping through the strands… Closing his eyes against the painful thump his heart gave in his chest, Bellamy tried shaking the remembrance away, but it clung to him, dredging up the memory of the night they got together, and how he had fallen asleep on her chest listening to the calming, steady rhythmic beating of her heart as she combed her finger through his hair, lulling him to sleep. The ache in his chest spiked to an intense acute stab, leaving him gasping for breath as the pain oh so slowly throbbed away back to the dull ache he was beginning to get used to. Well, it looked like it was time to get his hair cut…

**_XxxX_ **

Very early Monday morning, Bellamy walked into his mostly empty office building with a fresh short haircut, a cleanly shaven face, and his suit pressed, looking immaculate as ever. The only things that gave away his heartache and despair were his eyes, and the dark circles under them. He was still clueless as to the details of what would happen, but knew that a plan would soon be made, seeing as how he was still set on his decision that they needed to leave… The sooner the better.

Other than essential personnel, like security, no one else should have been there at that time of the morning… That’s the reason he was getting there so early, so he would just miss all the people who arrived early to work. However, what he was not expecting was to be stopped by Antonio before he got on the elevator to go to his office, and lead to the conference room off the large main security office. There, sitting on the large table, was a white box that immediately drew Bellamy’s attention, and his unease.

“What’s going on.” Bellamy stated calmly, not letting his anxiety leak through. It was an order, not a question.

Antonio cleared his throat and shuffled his feet a bit, not looking at Bellamy, which only made Bellamy even more uneasy… What could possibly have his head of security acting like this? Nothing fazed Antonio, ever.

“This was hand delivered for you this morning.” He said simply, confusing Bellamy. If he got delivered packages they were swept through security and checked thoroughly before being delivered to his office, if it was legitimate that is… If not, a report was written and pictures were taken of the contents before being disposed of. What was different about this package? Wait, did he say hand delivered?

“Okay… Who was it delivered by? Was it searched?” Bellamy asked a bit annoyed by the lack of information he was being given.

“No, it wasn’t searched… I figured you wouldn’t appreciate that and that it wasn’t necessary in this case.” The big man said, still avoiding the most crucial information.

Bellamy raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly said ‘ _quit-screwing-around-and-spit-it-out-already-before-I-go-thurmonuclear’_.

“It was Clarke.” Antonio said quietly, looking Bellamy square in the eye for the first time since entering the room. Bellamy froze, and his heart accelerated upon hearing those words. “Clarke delivered it and said it was for you.”

“Let me see the security footage.” Bellamy demanded immediately. Antonio fumbled with the iPad Bellamy hadn’t noticed was in the other man’s hand, before bringing up what his Boss asked for.

Bellamy took the device from Antonio and tapped the play arrow. Immediately, the crystal clear CCTV footage showed four different camera angle views of the lobby. As he watched, it wasn’t hard to spot her when she walked in, stopping a little shy of the revolving doors… She looked so tired and lost, but so beautiful with her hair braided over her shoulder and her dark blue scrubs on. She stuck out like a sore thumb of course, in her hospital scrubs amongst the suit-clad security milling about the building, doing their initial checks before the work day officially began. One such guard stopped her kindly and began talking with her… He looked to be very professional about the whole conversation, and accommodating to her, which pleased Bellamy immensely for a split second before that was gone, and he watched as she gave him a weak smile of, what he presumed was, thanks, before the guard walked off.

She stood there for a minute holding the box in her hands, and looking at her feet, shuffling on her feet every few seconds, raising a hand from the box to lift the strap of her big bag higher on her shoulder… She looked so tiny under all that weight, and so defeated by the set of her shoulders, it crushed him to see her like that… He did that to her. He had a hard time remembering this was a video taken a little less than hour or so ago- 5:37 A.M. according to the time stamp on the corner of the screen- and that she wasn’t standing in his lobby just through a couple of doors. She would have been on her way to a shift at the hospital that started at 6 then, so she’d already be there by now.

Focusing on the video again, he watched as Antonio came out of the security office and walked over to Clarke, offering some sort of greeting with a small smile, before leading her out of the way of the doors and prying eyes of other people, to a small corner by the empty front desk with a hand on the small of her back. Bellamy watched enraptured as Clarke gently set the box on the counter and rested her hand on the top of it, her eyes lingering on it for a moment before turning to Antonio and saying a few things. Antonio solemnly nodded twice, and she smiled feebly at him, quickly hugging him to Antonio’s obvious surprise, before pulling away and bolting for the front revolving door, not looking back as she exited the building. She wasn’t quick enough that Bellamy didn’t catch her discreetly wipe her cheeks with the hand that wasn’t clutching the strap of her bag, as if she were wiping tears away.

“What did she say to you?” Bellamy asked in a strangled voice.

Antonio cleared his throat as Bellamy watched on screen as Antonio took the box and walked back into the security office, as soon as Clarke was gone. “She asked me to make sure you got the box, and to keep you safe. No matter what.”

“Leave.” Bellamy said monotonously after a moment, his eyes now glued to the box. Antonio slipped from the room after taking the tablet from his Boss’s out stretched hand, and closed the door behind him with a resounding click that echoed through the still room.

After a moment, Bellamy approached the table where the box lay, and examined it. It was just a plain white cardboard box… The type of box clothing was usually wrapped up in from a department store. Finally gathering up the nerve, Bellamy lifted the top of the box off and dropped it to the side, taking in the contents of the box with an anguished heartbroken expression. It felt as though the world was crashing down around him, again, and for all he cared it could have been, as he began to look at everything she had left him with…

The biggest thing taking up the most room was the bouquet of withered daffodil and hyacinth flowers… The flowers he had given her a little over a week and a half ago. Bellamy didn’t need to look up the meaning of bouquet of withered flowers to know they meant _rejected love_. It broke him to know that’s how she viewed everything that had happened in the last 48 hours, and in a way, she was right… He had rejected her love, even though he had desperately not wanted to, and returned her love whole heartedly.

There was also a small yellow Manilla envelope tucked between the flower stems and the bottom of the shallow box. Slipping it out with trembling hands, Bellamy first noticed a weight to it before opening it and gently shaking the contents out onto the table… A folded piece of paper and his saint metal necklace fell out, clattering to the table.

He picked up the saint metal first, and held the familiar weight in his hand before running his thumb over the comforting words he had memorized on the back. _For a good man, in both name and deed. You are so special to me._

Swallowing thickly against the burning lump in the back of his throat, Bellamy reached for the folded paper next with his free hand, clutching the necklace in the fist of his other. As he opened it, two objects he hadn’t noticed wrapped up in the paper, fell to the table. The first he noticed was the two tickets to the picture show out in California, paper clipped together. The next was the membership card to the Met that he had given her the night of their trip to the museum. Focusing back on the paper he confirmed that there was a short bit of writing for him, and so with a heavy reluctant heart, he began to read…

_Bellamy,_

_I remember everything I said last night. I also remember meaning every single word, but I understand. I understand that you can’t take the risk of your greatest fears coming true and that your trying to protect me. I want you to know that I forgive you for anything and everything you believe in your mind you need forgiveness from me for, including leaving… But for me, there is nothing to forgive. I want you to know that I don’t see or hold you responsible for the tough decisions you’ve made on behalf of us both… That you had to make those tough choices and sacrifices, the fault lies solely with me. Forgive me? Forgive me for being the weak one and not picking you over them… Know that I wanted to with all my heart. I still trust you… I will always trust you. I trust you to always do the right thing that’s in the best interest of those you care about, and, if what you said in your letter is to be believed as the truth, that includes me too. So, I guess by that logic leaving is the right thing to do, I just wish it didn’t have to happen._

_To answer your question, yes, it did hurt to see you, but I know it must have hurt you more to have to see me. I understand why you have to leave, truly, I do, and to an extent I agree, it would only hurt us both in the long run. I must confess that even though it tears me apart and goes against everything in my being, I know I have to physically let you go now, but I don’t think in my heart I will ever be able to._

_I am not as selfless or perfect as you think I am, and so I too cannot bring myself to tell you to move on and love another woman… Not when I couldn’t hear you say to me even once, those words you claim to feel. We had our time together, and in that time, you stole my heart, and I will never regret that. So know that, wherever you go, you carry it with you. I will treasure every moment we had together, as I too had hoped and longed for a future for us both together. You say you’re weak, but I believe that’s the furthest from the truth… It will be difficult, but I know you’re going to be okay. People say that with time, things heal and won’t hurt like they did before… That’s all I pray for you. I don’t want you to hurt or suffer. You asked me to be careful and be safe, and so I too must ask you to please, for my sake, do not do anything reckless or take risks that could get you hurt or killed._

_With all my love,_

_Clarke_

_P.S.- I can’t accept the tickets or the membership card… Both are thing I don’t want to do without you, and since I can’t have you, I don’t want them. The necklace is yours… I gave it to you, and I beg you now, to please keep it._

The letter was fully shaking in his hands by the time he finished reading it… She wasn’t angry. She wasn’t disappointed. She was pained, resigned, and accepting… Very much like he was. It was like she’d been expecting this to go the way it had, but still hoping against hope that it wouldn’t turn out this way. Bellamy let the letter drop to the table, but refused to drop his necklace. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t see her again, he just couldn’t, but he ran the risk of just that by staying in the city until he left for good. He couldn’t leave permanently just quite yet because he had things that needed to be done before he officially departed… Like find a place to move to, move his company as quietly as possible (which would be a feat in and of itself), and move all his men and assets secretly, before announcing to his father he was leaving. It was crucial his father not know he was leaving until the very last minute, so Bellamy would be gone when the fall out hit of his father realizing his oldest son left not only him, but his Family as well. Damian would be pissed, but Bellamy would be long gone by then to deal with his fathers wrath.

What he needed, was to leave for a few weeks, before coming back. He needed to get his mind right, and figure some shit out, and prepare… The anger that had left him earlier in the week came back with a _vengeance_ , and that’s exactly what he wanted… Revenge. _That’s_ what came after acceptance… Not just any revenge however, but revenge that he could actually take out on someone. Someone had to pay for what happened… Not Clarke or himself… Not even Jake or Damian… It went back to the source. The reason they were in this whole mess to begin with… The Canadians who picked a fight, they now had no chance of winning, all because they had unknowingly provoked his rage and his ire, and now they were going to get the full brunt of it.

Slipping the necklace over his head and tucking it out of sight under his shirt, Bellamy put the other stuff back into the envelope, all save for the letter. The letter he tucked into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, putting everything else back in the box before closing it once more. Grabbing the box, he left the room, finding Antonio outside the door waiting for him.

“Call the guys.” Bellamy directed as he began to walk to the elevator the would take him to his office. “Tell them were leaving today and won’t be back for about a week and a half, maybe a little less, so to hand the things that need to be taken care of immediately and can’t be put off, over to whomever is their second in charge in order to take that time off of work. I want everyone at the club in three hours, so we can get equipment.” Antonio was nodding and typing away on his phone doing as his Boss was directing him and taking notes. Bellamy walked into the waiting elevator, Antonio following him into the metal box, knowing he hadn’t been dismissed yet. As the doors closed, Bellamy continued. “I want all the men who are loyal to me ready to report to me in Seattle tomorrow night… I don’t care how they get there, just that they get there. I’m thinking everyone that handled that Bronx drug problem a while back will do, and anyone else you can think of. The jet needs to be fueled and waiting on standby for the nine of us to leave today. We will need cars waiting at the airport in Seattle, all SUV’s, tinted windows, the works. You know what I like.” The elevator dinged signaling they reached the top floor. Bellamy kept walking to his office, ignoring Roma’s forced chipper greeting as she stood there with his coffee. When he was safely ensconced in his office with Antonio, the doors closed and locked behind him, he kept giving his orders while moving around his office getting ready for his departure. The white box was put on the small conference table in his office, and left there. “I want Jones and Adam, when he returns next week, put on security here while I’m gone… Maybe give them paid leave if they’re not needed here. I don’t know. It’s up to you to figure something out.” Bellamy said relenting. He had more serious issues to deal with. “We’re going to Code Red… Tell whomever needs to know, and keep all of this quiet. I don’t want anyone, meaning my father or uncle, knowing. Oh, and before you go, get me the number for this person… I need it pronto.” He said scribbling the name down on a sticky note, and handing it over.

Antonio nodded and left in a hurry, needing all the time he could get to get done all he had to do. Bellamy quickly grabbed everything he needed from his desk and office, and left, locking everything up behind him, seeing as how he would not be returning for quite a long time, before heading down the hall to Sinclair’s office. With the other man’s secretary absent, Bellamy was forced to knock and wait for a signal to enter… He wasn’t a complete asshole without manners. Besides, he liked Sinclair.

When Bellamy entered, it looked as though Sinclair had just gotten there and was settling in to work… Bellamy felt a stab of guilt for all he was about to dump on the unassuming man, but Bellamy shrugged it away… This had to happen.

Looking up, Sinclair was obviously surprised to see Bellamy there… Bellamy hardly ever came to his office, except on rare occasions. Standing, Sinclair walked around his desk and shook hands with Bellamy, greeting him with genuine warmth and respect, which Bellamy returned. “Let’s sit and talk about whatever it is you’ve come to see me about.” Sinclair said, getting to the crux of the issue immediately, not caring to dawdle about. There was a reason Bellamy liked Sinclair…

As soon as they sat across from each other in the small sitting area similar to Bellamy’s, Bellamy dove right in. “Something’s come up, and I’ve got to leave immediately… Family emergency you could say.” Bellamy shrugged at Sinclair’s raised eyebrows… No one knew much about Bellamy’s family other than what could be found online, which wasn’t much, so it could be true, and technically it was. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, or when I’ll be back,” Bellamy continued, “so I’m leaving you in charge as Acting CEO.” Sinclair nodded, not questioning his boss. After handing over all the important paperwork he’d had on his desk, Bellamy continued explaining what he’d been doing, and what needed to be done in order for Sinclair to pick up where he’d left off.

After he was done explaining what needed to be explained, Bellamy took a deep breath and told him the second half of what he had to say. “We’re leaving… As in this company, my company, is moving… Well, just the headquarters anyway.” Sinclair’s face showed his shock and disbelief, but Bellamy continued talking. “There are a lot of things that will need to be done…”

“Wait,” Sinclair said, sounding a little lost. “Where is the headquarters moving to?”

Bellamy again shrugged, “I don’t know that exactly, but I’ve got good people on it, finding us the new location. Everything outside of New York can stay the same… All the businesses, assets, branch offices, etcetera can remain as it is, but, everything else here in the city… Hell, in the state, has to either be moved, or sold. So, what I want you to get started on doing while I’m gone is I want you to start getting us ready for the move, meaning, stopping any new mergers and taking no new projects that would go through us here in headquarters, at least for the next year or so while were moving and getting ourselves situated in the new location. Also, start liquidating smaller assets and properties so we’ll have money on hand for this transfer… I want to wait on liquidating anything big though, until we know where we’ll be moving to and can run numbers on how much it will all cost.”

Sinclair stopped the scribbling he’d been doing on a yellow legal pad, and asked, “Should we start laying off staff or make an internal announcement?”

Bellamy immediately began shaking his head. “No. I don’t want anyone to know what’s going on, so for now, this will stay strictly between you and I… Not even your secretary is to know about this. You understand?” Bellamy asked gravely. Sinclair nodded solemnly. “Continue on with the projects and mergers we already have going on, just don’t start anything new here. Quietly sell off some of the smaller office building and restaurants that don’t make huge profits but will be sold at a good price, and if anyone asks or panics, just say it’s business as usual… Which it will be. We sell things off all the time. If someone notices that here at headquarters we’re not doing anything new, just say were taking a small break to review all our assets and properties to ensure everything is in order and up to code… Which we will be doing once we settle in where ever we relocate to. When the time comes, we’ll offer moving packages for those who want to come with us, or severance packages and recommendations for those who want to stay… If they stay, we’ll just have to hire locally from where ever we end up. You’ll have that choice too, stay or go. I’d hate to lose you, but I’ll understand, seeing as how your family is established here and everything.”

“I was here at the start, so I’ll go where ever the company goes Bellamy, but I feel I must ask, are you sure about this? About moving? We might not recover fully, because this will be a hit…” Sinclair said uncertain. Bellamy would have felt the same way if he were in Sinclair’s position, and his boss came to him with this plan out of the blue, with seemingly no thought put into it… But the awful white box and its contents came to mind, and the letter in his left breast pocket felt heavy pressing against his chest.

“Yes. I’m sure.” Bellamy said resolute. “There is nothing left in New York for us anymore… If we never recover, then I’ll spend the rest of my life and my fortune trying to fill the gap and fix it, but we’ve got to go.”

Sinclair nodded slowly, seeing the conviction in the other man’s eyes. “Okay. I’ll work on this while you’re gone… Dealing with whatever you’ll be dealing with.”

Bellamy nodded relieved it would be taken care of, and that Sinclair would be coming with him, well, the company. Truthfully, if he wasn’t coming, _that_ would have been the real hit that the company would have never recovered from.

Sinclair spoke up, looking at everything laid out in front of him. “When are you leaving?”

“Immediately, like as in within the hour.”

“Okay, have you cancelled all your appointments?” He asked looking up.

“No, not yet. That was next on my list of things to do.” Bellamy said.

“I can take care of that for you…” Sinclair offered. “I’ll look at what you have set up, and either cancel it, or have it moved over to my schedule because I’ll need some of those meetings, so you’ll be helping me out really.”

“Be my guest.” Bellamy said with a small smile. “You and your secretary can go see mine right now if you’ve got the time. I’ve still got to figure out what to do with her while I’m gone.” Bellamy said in disdain.

“I guess she’s not a keeper.” Sinclair said amused. Bellamy and his difficulty finding the right secretary were a source of such great amusement for the whole top floor.

“Hell no.” Bellamy responded. “If you want her to work for you, you can bring her over here to help out, otherwise she’s going to HR to be assigned somewhere else while I’m gone.”

“We’ll see. I’m quite happy with Brianna, but she and I might need more help with all of this.” He said motioning to the work laid out in front of him. “I’ll make the decision after we clear your schedule.” He said standing up, and heading for the door peaking his head out to speak with his secretary. Bellamy’s phone vibrated in his pocket… A text message from Antonio with the number he asked for flashed across the screen. Rather than go back to his already locked up office, Bellamy asked Sinclair if he could use his office for a moment before he left, while Sinclair was out with his secretary. Sinclair agreed of course, said his goodbyes, wishing Bellamy luck with whatever was going on, and left, closing his office door behind him.

Bellamy waited for a moment, listening for two pairs of shoes walk away from the door and down the hall, before slowly walking over to stand in front of the desk and picking up the office phone off the receiver…. He needed this conversation hidden, where no one would ever find it, and using Sinclair’s phone ensured the likelihood that it wouldn’t be found. He dialed the number from the text message, and waited three rings before a feminine lilting voice answered.

“It’s Blake.” He murmured. “Are you in town? Good. We need to meet, some place quiet and private. Be at our usual spot in thirty minutes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say the end of February? I meant the beginning of April. This chapter was way harder to finish than I thought it would be. Sorry about that. I'm sure some of you were disappointed that what was implied at the end of last chapter didn't actually happen, but I think I clearly expressed why it couldn't happen. So, Bellamy's got a plan, and we'll see a little of that next chapter, along with a time jump of about 6 weeks. I hope you won't judge Clarke or Bellamy too harshly this chapter... To me this was them at their rawest, truest selves, showing what they both wanted most, and become accepting and resigned to their supposed fates. Also, it's easy for you as the reader to know what Bellamy is thinking/feeling as I'm writing from his pov, but harder to know for Clarke as it's all being seen through his eyes, so I needed to write her feelings and thoughts to be spoken and acted rather than all internalized and guessed to death by Bellamy. Make a little sense? I've sat down and planned the next several chapters out, and I've got their reunion tentatively planned for Chapter 30... This is of course contingent on how long the chapters 27-29 get and whether I need to split them up. Believe me, I'd rather not have to do that. Thank you to my readers... I love you all. Until next time.
> 
> -Redhead17x (Come find me on Tumblr under the same name!)
> 
> PS- I'd like to start responding to the comments again, so I'm gonna try to get back into the habit of doing that, so bear with me.


	27. Gone, Long Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters. 
> 
> Warning: Some violence, language...
> 
> I am sick of looking at this chapter, which is the only reason I'm posting it... Unbeta'd. I think its awful, and have no clue how to fix it. If you hate it, I know, me too, which sucks majorly because this chapter includes the very first scene for this story which I pictured in my head while listening to a certain song that I named the story after. As you can see it grew majorly from one scene to this monstrosity... Enjoy if you can. 
> 
> If you make it that far and are into it, play Lips of an Angel by Hinder as soon as you get to Week 3... You'll understand why hopefully.

**Lips of an Angel- Chapter 27- Gone, Long Gone**

Six weeks later

_Women screaming… Men yelling… Gun shots ringing through the cool night air… Blood soaking the ground at his feet…_

Bellamy’s eyes snapped open as he woke with a strangled gasp, bolting into an upright position, and scanning the dark room for any sign of a threat. Coming up with nothing, he relaxed marginally, and spent a moment getting his erratic breathing under control. The cool air in the room felt good on his overheated skin. Shaking off the recurring nightmare, Bellamy gently rose and made to get ready for the day, pausing to evaluate himself in the bathroom mirror. No one would recognize him now if they saw him… Hell, he didn’t even recognize himself anymore. Bellamy felt nothing though, looking at the stranger in the mirror, and couldn’t muster the effort or care to change his appearance… In a way, he appreciated being unrecognizable. Anonymity, solitude, and isolation had become his only friends these past weeks living in the mountains, and he enjoyed their company more than he probably should have for someone so broken.

His outer appearance now reflected both how he felt on the inside and his new harsh environment… Rugged. Savage almost. Dark sunken eyes looked back at him from the mirror, a result of only three to four hours of sleep a night… No more, due to the haunting nightmares. Facial hair that had crossed into full blown beard territory. Sallow skin that that spoke of too much alcohol, and not enough food. Then of course were the shaking hands that hadn’t been able to steadily hold a gun since he’d left… _Her._ Oh yes, he’d fallen quite far from the throne he once thought he sat on.

Bellamy carefully pulled his t-shirt up and over his head, revealing new and old wounds… The biggest being three long fresh claw marks on his left side. Wolf attack. It was dead now, by his own hand, but killing it hadn’t been without injury as evidence by the puffy red gashes along his side. Thankfully, the wounds weren’t deep enough to require cauterization, only several stitches, and the animal hadn’t had rabies… Just a starving lone wolf, probably a runt by the size of him, desperate for food. Ignoring his extremely sore side, Bellamy turned away from the strange man in the mirror and carefully maneuvered himself into the shower.

Sometime later, Bellamy walked down the stairs showered and dressed in thick clothes, head throbbing from all the drinking the night before and the early morning nightmare. He started coffee in the kitchen, and ambled into the living space to stoke the coals in the large hearth before adding a log or so more to keep the fire going. As he watched the fire grow, his mind wandered to memories of when he had first started out on his crusade, what felt like a life time ago, but had in fact only been weeks…

_Week 1_

_Immediately after touching down in Seattle and turning on his phone, Bellamy was bombarded by missed phone calls from his father, uncle, and grandmother, and just as many voicemails asking where he was, what he was doing, etc., but none from the person he most wanted to hear from… He knew she wouldn’t call, they’d broken ties after all, but it still didn’t stop a little weed of hope festering in his heart anyway. He carved it out as quick as he could, not needing it to grow any further… They were done with each other. He left her. She agreed with him, saying it was the best for them both, even though she hadn’t wanted that. There would be no phone calls from either side. No contact was the new religion he would work to devote himself to._

_After settling in at the house Jake had given him, Bellamy and the guys left with their equipment, and headed for the well-known warehouse. Walking in, there were a few familiar faces Bellamy had met in Jake’s organization, and very many new faces, all a little awed looking of the big crew of men walking in with bags of weapons, ammunition, and computer equipment. Lincoln was there in the warehouse too, and obviously shocked to see them all come in and immediately begin setting up to take over._

_“What’s going on?” Lincoln asked coming over and shaking Bellamy’s hand._

_“I’m making sure Damian holds up his side of the marriage contract correctly, and that means I come handle this personally. I’ve got more guys coming in later with more supplies. Call your dad, tell him to get down here. Round up the rest of your people, we’ve got work to do.” Bellamy replied gruffly, his voice hoarse from hours of lack of use._

_Bellamy had his guys working two day’s straight gathering intelligence, switching on and off every 8 hours, to sleep or whatever. Jake didn’t seem to thrilled to see him, not that Bellamy gave a damn. He didn’t like having to see the older man either, but Jake immediately relinquished all his power, control and planning to Bellamy for the whole operation, not even putting up a real fight about it… Something that was very uncharacteristic of Jake. But never the less, he stood back and watched and observed everything Bellamy did, never saying anything. Bellamy wondered if his new behavior was born because of his guilt, his humiliation, losing his daughter and having her refuse to speak to him, or because he’d simply given up because of everything that had happened… Realizing his pride had come before his fall._

_Maybe all of it contributed to the new muted, somber, subdued Jake… Whatever it was, the man was obviously broken and so Bellamy avoided him like the plague. He didn’t need to look at Jake and be reminded of his own pieces on the floor, yet to be picked up and glued back together… His rage was doing a fine job of keeping him together at the moment, even if he felt himself slipping a little into insanity territory because of it all. Bellamy felt like he should pity Jake for everything he was currently suffering and going through, but he couldn’t actually bring himself to feel sorry for the other man. Not when he himself had lost so much because of the older man… Too much. In Bellamy’s mind, Jake deserved to feel everything he was feeling, and get no sympathy… He certainly wouldn’t be getting anything from Bellamy._

_After five days had come and gone since Bellamy and his guy’s arrival, everything was ready. They had enough man power and weapons, they had the intel needed, and they had a solid plan. Bellamy carefully and quickly placed his men where they needed to be, and set events into motion to carry out his carefully laid plans._

_Firstly, they identified all the major locations that stored all the various illegal goods of each crime syndicate… Drugs mostly, some alcohol, weapons, and tobacco wares, and a few major counterfeited items. All those store houses burned to the ground, along with all the cash houses he could locate in such a short time span. Everything went up in flames, not one thing stolen… That wasn’t what this was about. Not one person was killed in the process either… In fact, Bellamy went out of his way to make sure everyone involved in this phase survived, if not a little worst for the wear, wanting to ensure his message was sent to the gangs and the leaders of the gangs properly, loud and clear, and who better to do that than terrified, panicked witnesses?_

_The attacks were coordinated to happen all within minutes of each other, Bellamy not wanting to give them the advantage of being on guard and alert. No doubt, it was a major blow to all their operations, losing not just their merchandise but all their dirty cash, with no chance of getting it back because it was nothing but ash now. That wasn’t the end of it of course… No way. Bellamy might have left it at that, had he been a bigger more merciful and forgiving person, but who was he kidding, he’d never been forgiving or merciful, and this felt personal. Hell, it was personal. He was the one who had lost everything important because of their greed… He was the one suffering more than anyone else. Why should they get off with some material and financial loss? No, he wanted blood, and he’d be damned if he didn’t get it._

_As predicted, they scattered, running around panicking like chicken with their heads cut off. The spies Bellamy had planted in each organization or flipped to work for him were very eager to prove themselves to their new boss and reported everything they saw. Arguing broke out, accusations were thrown around, and blame for the hell being rained down on them was passed like a torch between the three groups. As they fought from within, Bellamy moved the last piece into place… The final crippling death blow._

_He wanted to take care of the leaders of all three groups, and he vowed that he would… Personally._

_It was uncovered by one of Jake’s guys, Wick, that the whole plan was spear headed by the outlaws, and their new leader, a man by the name of Emerson. Carl Emerson. He was who Bellamy targeted personally. The other two leaders, men by the names of Lovejoy and Whitman, were just added bonuses. Waiting until all three groups separately tucked tail and ran, hiding out with their men, licking their wounds, Bellamy made his move. Swiftly, he ordered the kidnapping of Lovejoy, Whitman, and both of their seconds, commanding that if any of their men stood in the way of getting this task accomplished, they were to be shot on sight… Shooting to kill, not maim. Now that he was in the final stages of his plan, he wasn’t going to risk any of his guys lives to protect some other thug’s life who wouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger on his men. They were now past the point of caring about the body count, especially seeing the list of Jake’s men who had already been killed in Jake’s home territory._

_When all four men were in his grasp, Bellamy descended upon Emerson who was locked down in his remote, heavily guarded, mansion. It took tact and a hell of a lot of perfectly sequenced timing on Bellamy’s part, but they made it through with minimal casualties and fatalities… At least on Bellamy’s side. The plan was to go in quietly without alerting the whole house that they were being invaded, disable the alarm and security system, and clear a path for the boss and his entourage to come in, meaning taking out all the guards who got in their way by any means necessary. Bellamy worked it to have his main eight guys each heading up a team of men, with each team being composed of men from Jake’s outfit, and some being from Bellamy’s. Lincoln, and Jake were to stay with Bellamy, and the team he designed strictly for security, headed up by Antonio._

_Bellamy gave orders that if any of Emerson’s men surrendered, they were to spared an outright bullet, but taken hostage, lined up on their knees on the massive gravel driveway in front of the enormous house… It was almost castle like really. Next came the part that simultaneously had Bellamy trembling with rage and satisfaction… Emerson was forcefully restrained and dragged out the front door, down the steps to stand several feet from Bellamy who was casually leaning against the black SUV at his back with his slightly quivering hands tucked into his pockets._

_Emerson had a clear line of sight to everything laid out in front of him… His men off to his right, covered in blood and forced to their knees, heavily armed men milling about everywhere, and the tall imposing figure in front of him leaning on just one SUV in a whole line of them leading off to the left. The figure tilted his head almost completely imperceptibly to the side for a moment, as though contemplating what to do with him. The man’s dull cold lifeless eyes were the scariest thing about him… That, and Emerson had no idea who he was, or what he was capable of._

_Bellamy watched the scared man in front of him for a mere split second, taking note of the confusion and glimmer of desperation beginning to shine in his gaze, before Bellamy slowly moving his own gaze lazily over and up to the sky… The stars were out in full force here, he mused to himself. He didn’t get out of the city enough to really see and appreciate them… Out of the corner of his eye, Bellamy saw Murphy and Wick manhandle Emerson to the ground on his knees like his men a few yards away, and drew his attention back to the object of his ire and revenge._

_Drawing up to his full height, Bellamy pushed of the car and slowly sauntered forward to stand right in front of the kneeling man._

_“Carl Emerson.” Bellamy identified with a strong voice, showing no emotion or weakness. Slowly, he began circling the shivering man, continuing to speak in a disembodied, almost bored voice, not wanting to give a single thing away. “Benefits Advisory and Compliance Senior Analyst for a company in Calgary with a bring home salary of a little less than a hundred and fifty grand a year… Newly appointed leader of the Alberta outlaws as of a year and a half ago… Owner of a couple of vacation homes in Nova Scotia, and several sizable bank accounts in the Cayman Islands… Husband of Julia Emerson… Father of nine-year-old Jonathan and four-year-old Roy… Owner of a two story four-bedroom-two-bath family home in Calgary where I presume said family is currently…” At the mention of his family, Emerson who had already begun to pale upon hearing all this personal, private information being laid out by an obviously dangerous stranger, began to struggle against the firm grips of Murphy and Wick. Futilely of course. He wasn’t going anywhere, he had nowhere to run to, and he wasn’t armed, so he couldn’t fight his way out of this. He was a dead man kneeling._

_As Bellamy came to a stop in front of Emerson once again, something over the kneeling man’s head caught his attention._

_“My team is searching the rooms upstairs… Miller’s team is searching downstairs.” Diego said exiting the house, before pausing and bringing his hand up to his ear and listening intently. After a pause he spoke to the person on the other end saying, “Copy that.” Turning to Bellamy he said, “Found two maids on the first floor, an older guy on the second floor, and a couple of guards and security personnel. They’re being brought out now.”_

_A minute later, two women, one in her late 40’s, the other in her early 30’s, were lead out of the house and off to the side somewhere. The security personnel were brought out next and promptly lined up with the rest of Emerson’s men at the back of the group. Lastly, an older man was lead out. He was thin, but not frail looking with stark white hair and dark eyes. His narrow face was pale and grim looking, making the wrinkles prominent. He looked familiar in a way… But a way Bellamy couldn’t place. Bellamy certainly didn’t know who this other man was… That is, until he opened his mouth and spoke._

_Bellamy motioned for the man to be lead over to him so he could get a closer look at him, and was slightly taken aback when the man’s eyes looked back at him with contempt… It was nothing like the anger in Emerson’s eyes at having been bested and captured. No, it was a type of anger and hate that Bellamy immediately recognized and was very familiar with... The kind that drove a man to seek vengeance and retribution… The kind of contempt that burned in his own eyes._

_Bellamy didn’t know how long the silent stare off lasted. Everything around them was dead quiet, as everyone looked on at the silent battle of wills occurring between the two men._

_The silence was broken by the older man first, “Bellamy Blake. I have waited a very long time to meet you… Too long actually. It looks as though God has finally granted me the opportunity to meet you and speak with you, before I kill you.” The man said calmly._

_Bellamy didn’t let his perplexity show, and instead cocked his head to the side, smiling slightly with derision at the man’s courage. “God has granted you nothing. It’s obvious I don’t know you, yet you know me well enough to want to kill me… Is that somehow supposed to be a clue as to who you are? I have too many people who want to kill me, so that’s not a hint, you’ll have to be a little more specific.”_

_“You…” The man’s calm façade dropped as he choked out, “You killed my son.”_

_Bellamy was sure the older man’s words were meant to have a more impactful, dramatic, confusing effect, but they only served to further exasperate Bellamy. It was cold, he was pissed, and he wanted to get on with killing Emerson. “Listen,” Bellamy hissed, leaning forward slightly, “I’ve got news for you. I’ve killed a lot of men. Every one of them was somebody’s son, so spit it out already! Give me your name, or I just kill you now and be done with it.”_

_“My name is Dante Wallace. You tortured and killed my son Cage Wallace.” Dante said coldly._

_Bellamy actually laughed at that, obviously startling Dante by the way he flinched. “Oh, he deserved it.” Bellamy said lightly, pissing Dante off further if his reddening face indicated anything. “So… What are you doing out here Wallace? And with fellow scum too…” Bellamy asked, his head tilted to the side, allowing his amusement to show briefly, his eyes flickering to Emerson. Oh, the sniveling, quaking man hadn’t been forgotten about, just put on hold._

_“I don’t have to tell you anything…” Dante hissed. “You good for nothing, rat-“_

_The older man was cut off abruptly by the loud bang of a gun._

_“Okay then.” Bellamy said lightly, lowering the recently discharged weapon in his hand to his side, as the two women screamed in fright and Emerson about jumped out of his skin, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid the blood spattering his face and having to look at the mess on the ground beside him. No one had even really seen Bellamy pull the gun and fire before the body was sprawled out on the ground, blood painting the driveway red._

_Bellamy felt the hand holding his gun trembling at his side, almost imperceptibly, or so he thought. Murphy, Jake, Lincoln, and Antonio, who were all standing within noticing range, picked up on the uncharacteristic movement, and cast worried glances toward the dark-haired man. Bellamy didn’t notice, too focused the two scared women who had tears streaming down their faces, praying not to anger the strange threatening man who held all their lives in his hands. What they didn’t know was that, while Bellamy’s heart had already hardened towards everything and everyone and cared nothing for their plight, for he was dealing with his own, they were in no real danger. Emerson was who he wanted. Turning back to the remaining kneeling man at his feet, Bellamy felt his anger rise seeing the cowering man with his eyes still squeezed tightly shut, him mouth moving silently as though praying._

_“Emerson…” Bellamy taunted softly, tapping the white-hot muzzle of his gun dead center against the kneeling man’s forehead thrice, making the man flinch at every tap. “Wake up. We’re not done yet.” Bellamy said._

_Emerson took a moment, squeezing his eyes shut tightly once more, praying again that this was all some horrible nightmare that he’d wake up from. Swallowing back the bile, not for the first time that night, Emerson forced his eyes open into a glare to confront his all too real, dark-haired, living nightmare that was stood before him._

_“Good.” Bellamy praised like he would a pet. “Stand him up.” Bellamy calmly ordered Murphy and Wick._

_Once Emerson was on his feet, Bellamy still a head taller than him, towered over the other man. “So, is that your father,” he said nodding to the body on the ground, “Or your wife’s father?” He asked._

_“Julia’s father. He’s- was- my father-in-law.” Emerson said hoarsely, stumbling a bit in his word choice, as he was looking down at the blood beginning to pool around his feet. Bellamy nodded thoughtfully._

_“Okay, and whose idea was it to step on very powerful people’s toes?” Bellamy asked curiously. Emerson looked up again glaring, but didn’t say anything. “I personally don’t need to know the answer Emerson, but it would help determine your manor of death. I’m giving you a chance to plead your case here. No answer is an admission of guilt, and you get the max sentence, which…” Bellamy chuckled darkly, looking down pointedly before leveling his gaze again. “Isn’t pretty as you can see. So, I’ll ask again, were you the chess piece, or were you the player?”_

_“Look, I was looking for a quicker, cheaper way to get product up here, true, but it wasn’t my idea to go after Griffin, okay? It was Dante’s. Dante was my advisor and my father-in-law… He advised my father before me. I grew up with him and Julia… Cage was older than Julia and I, and was hardly ever around. I don’t remember much of him because Dante was always shipping him off to one boarding school or another before he was arrested and released and then turned up dead. He said that Griffin had Cage murdered for refusing to work for him, and that it would be nothing to kill Griffin and his men to ensure no one was left to take over and keep their organization running, and then we could use their territory and have a foot hold in the U.S... He swore it wasn’t about revenge, just,” Emerson paused after rushing to spill his guts, and gulped at seeing the rising fury on the faces of the men surrounding him. “He said, “It’s just good business.”.” Emerson choked out. Bellamy motioned for him to continue talking. “When Griffin tried to negotiate, Dante convinced me it wasn’t a good deal… That there was a reason my father never liked working with the Americans, that they would double cross us, but that we had them running scared. You see, I had no reason not to trust him. He ended up being wrong about it being easy to clear them out, but when I offered a deal to some of the other gangs, we had enough men to go up against him and succeed, especially when no other American organization jumped it to help like Dante said would happen… Until now I guess.” He said bitterly, Emerson’s eyes flickering over the large operation around him that had bested him._

_Bellamy nodded, absorbing all of the information. “You’re an idiot.” Bellamy said suddenly. “Your blind trust in Dante just cost you your life, and possibly the lives of your men. You want to know what really happened?” Bellamy seethed. “Your brother-in-law was a junkie who committed murder while high out of his mind. He was arrested and got out on a technicality. Then, I came to Seattle and killed him in revenge because it was my mother that he killed in a gas station robbery. Your father, whom I am betting was a very smart man for staying out of American business, probably refused to let your father-in-law, his then advisor if what you say is true, go on some type of revenge killing spree in America to avenge the death of his drug-using son, knowing it would either get Dante killed or start a war he couldn’t win. Your dumbass however, didn’t inherit his genes, did you? You were used like the tool you are…” Bellamy stopped, a bolt of enlightenment hitting him hard._

_Emerson’s words, floated through his mind, “-especially when no other American organization jumped in to help like Dante said would happen.” Dante had known straight away who he was… His name, his face… Bellamy swore quietly as he put it all together. Dante had Emerson go after Jake, expecting and hoping that Damian would jump in to help Jake, thus, drawing Bellamy out into the open so he could be killed. Just a casualty of war, not a targeted attack. All of this happened just so Dante could get to Bellamy… Target Bellamy. But, before the guilt could hit and sink in, another thought hit Bellamy… They had to have been monitored somehow. Dante had to have some intel that he would base his whole plan off of… He wouldn’t just target the Griffins if he wasn’t sure Bellamy wouldn’t get involved somehow, which meant he had to have known that Bellamy was close with Jake, which could only come from inside Jake’s camp, seeing as how, until recently, no one in New York but his own main guys knew about his friendship with Jake, and they’d never be disloyal. There was a mole in Jake’s organization._

_Bellamy looked up darkly, the silence had been deafening as Bellamy mulled over everything. As his eyes roved over everyone around him, his eyes locked on Lincoln, and he motioned for the other man to come over. Lincoln slowly moved to Bellamy and listened intently as Bellamy leaned in a whispered just audibly for Lincoln to hear, “We have a traitor amongst us… I don’t have time to explain, but who here hasn’t been present the past week we’ve been here?” Pulling back, Lincoln looked around, and began thinking… He’d seen every one of them this past week, numerous times. Lincoln shook his head at Bellamy, which stumped him._

_Jake stepped forward and asked, “What’s going on Bellamy?” His voice ringing out through the frigid night air. Bellamy held up a finger as his eyes fell on Emerson’s numerous men kneeling at gun point, and something clicked. It was a bit outrageous, but not undoable or impossible. Turning back to Lincoln, Bellamy whispered again, “Did you recover all of the bodies of your men that were killed?” Lincoln thought for a moment before freezing and shaking his head no, speaking one word loud enough to be heard in the tense, uneasy silence that surrounded them. A name._

_“Thomas.”_

_Suddenly, there was a commotion as one of the men kneeling in the back edge of the group jumped from his knees and took off at a dead run across the barren landscape surrounding the mansion. Before anyone could move to raise their own weapons to shoot the runner, Jake had his weapon pulled and a shot fired off in the direction of the escaping man. He stumbled slightly in his run, before crumpling face first to a writhing heap on the ground, clutching his leg where a bullet had been embedded in his thigh._

_Bellamy rolled his eyes… This was getting out of hand. “Bring him here.” Bellamy directed some of his men who were milling about. Once the screaming, begging, pleading man was brought in front of him, Bellamy pistol whipped him to the ground to silence him. Once he could finally think without all the ruckus, Bellamy centered himself again._

_“Bring me the other four.” Bellamy directed Romeo, who promptly knocked twice on two of the SUV’s back windows. The four back doors were opened, and a total of 8 men filed out of the cars, four armed to the teeth, and the other four with bags over their heads. Bellamy directed his four men to line the prisoners up behind him. Unlike the standing Emerson, they were forced to their knees, their hands still bound behind their back in steel hand cuffs. Bellamy walked over to each of the four kneeling men and quickly pulled the black bag from over their heads and pulled off the ear muffs they had on, but leaving them gaged for now. Each man squinted and blinked rapidly, muddled and dazed at the sudden light and surroundings after having been deprived of sight and hearing for so long, and were promptly met with the sight of a pale restrained, but standing Emerson, Dante’s dead body, and the traitor Thomas’s unconscious form, slowly bleeding out. As they began looking around more, they began taking in the sight of Emerson’s men lined up at gun point, and Bellamy’s large number of imposing men surrounding the entire area, weapons at the ready for any sudden movement. Fear became apparent on the four prisoner’s faces and in their eyes, knowing, or having a strong notion, of what was coming next._

_“Now,” Bellamy said turning back to look Emerson in the eyes, ignoring the other four men behind him for a moment. “I want you to beg.” He said vaguely, a cold steely glint in his eyes._

_“What? Why? What for?” Emerson asked with confusion and a touch of bewilderment and panic. “No! I’ll never beg you for anything. You’re going to kill me anyway, no matter what I say or do, so why would I beg you for my life?” Bellamy could see the other man’s eyes flicker to his comrades behind him, and Bellamy almost smirked. How predictable. Trying to save face in front of them, and come off as the tough man, when in reality, Bellamy held all the cards. There was a reason he had this play out like he did…_

_“Your right.” Bellamy allowed, nodding along. “You’re dead no matter what you say… But what about your family? Are you not fearful for their lives? Their safety?” Bellamy asked, tauntingly. Emerson’s eyes glazed over at Bellamy’s question. “That’s right Emerson… Your dead, but what about them? Huh?” Bellamy taunted again, softly, deadly._

_What Bellamy truly wanted in that moment was for Emerson to beg… Beg for anything and everything. He wanted the man to beg on his hands and knees for his family… For their lives, like he had wanted to beg Clarke in that conference room as he held her in arms sobbing her heart out, for her to choose him, them, their future, over everyone and everything else._

_“Please.” Emerson choked out, tears swimming in his eyes, as he focused back on Bellamy. “Please don’t hurt them.” He said in a more pleading voice, slowly kneeling of his own volition, back to the ground in a show of surrender and utter compliance. “They had nothing to do with this. Not my wife n-n-nor my boys… They’re in-innocent.” He stuttered imploringly._

_“I guess the true torture will have to be that you’ll never know their fates.” Bellamy raised his gun, the slight tremble again noticeable to the people around him near enough to see, and noticeable to Emerson himself as he looked down the barrel of the gun milliseconds before it fired, ending his life and satiating Bellamy’s inner monster that had raged for the past week, thirsting for revenge._

_Now that it was done, Bellamy felt the ache and emptiness come back, thinking of everything that had led him to this… Executing people point blank in the middle of the Canadian wilderness in the frigid dead of night. He knew that he’d done this for himself, not for her. He’d done this for his revenge, yes, but also for his peace of mind. Emerson had been a threat to her safety, and would have been a continual threat to her safety if left undealt with, and no threat to her was allowed to live, it was as simple as that. Bellamy he knew it would be him who would have to deal with the aftermath of his own well thought out and planned decisions, but he’d gladly live with his sins and crimes if it meant whomever hurt her, threatened her, paid dearly for it and had others thinking twice about following the same path._

_All of a sudden, he felt drained… Exhausted. Tired. It wasn’t the tired that could be dealt with by sleeping for a few hours though. No, it was a bone deep weariness, that he feared would never go away. He just wanted this cleaned up and done with._

_Motioning to Lincoln, Bellamy spoke saying, “It’s up to you what you want to happen to Lovejoy and Whitman. Whitman’s the one that ordered the hit on you, and Lovejoy was the one in charge of Abby’s failed abduction. Do what you wish, just make it quick.” Bellamy said, with a bored tone, rubbing his free hand over his face, doggedly._

_Turning to Jake, Bellamy motioned to Thomas the Traitor and said, “Same goes for you with him. He was the one reporting to Wallace the status of our friendship… He’s a mole. Obviously faked his death, so no one would come after him. Kill him, torture him, I don’t care, just get it done.”_

_Jake made the decision to take the traitor back to Seattle… Bellamy knew he’d never be heard of again. Lincoln on the other hand had a harder decision, finally deciding they had to be killed since they’d more than likely retaliate and start the whole bloody war all over again. No, they were tying up all the loose ends here. While both Whitman and Lovejoy were quickly terminated, both their seconds were kept alive and stood from their kneeling positions. Quickly looking over to Emerson’s kneeling men, Bellamy quickly picked out the person he’d been searching for and had him brought over to stand next to the other two second in commands._

_“Congratulations men… You’ve each been promoted to temporarily serve as the respective head of your organizations, seeing as how your predecessors have…” Bellamy paused momentarily and looked around at his feet, before glancing back up to the men stood in front of him. “Well… Met an untimely end I would say. You’ve got a hell of a mess to clean up, and people to appease. I don’t care how you spin your stories of their deaths or whether you stay in power or how you run your organization… Just don’t make the same mistakes as these men, huh? You see where it landed them. Keep our names out of everything, don’t even think of retaliation, and lastly, anything that ties us to being here better be destroyed…” Bellamy paused and to make sure each frightened man was paying very close attention. It was unnecessary as they were focused solely on him, not wanting to screw up or piss him off in some way, lest he kill them as well. “If I find out my conditions have been disregarded, I will be back, and next time, no one will live. You got me?” Bellamy said menacingly._

_The stuttering responses in the affirmative by the three men were all it took for Bellamy and his guys to pack up and move out, leaving nothing but carnage and chaos in their wake._

A shrill beeping noise in the kitchen surfaced Bellamy from his thoughts. His coffee was ready. After pouring a cup, Bellamy began absentmindedly wondering about the spacious two-story log cabin that sat hidden a little way up a mountain where he’d taken up residence in for the past month. The views were breathtaking for sure, but Bellamy had grown accustom to the picturesque sight of the vast massive landscape sprawled out outside his window. He could clearly see smoke rising above the two small Alaskan towns nestled down in the valley created by walls of tall mountains, dead ending at the large bay in the distance, which flowed out into the Gulf of Alaska farther south. Bellamy’s property sat at the Northern apex of the valley starting a new chain of mountains, where the two chains of mountains that made up the wall of the valley began to veer off in opposite directions creating a V-shape, allowing another chain to form in the space in between. 

It hadn’t been easy to obtain, and cost a bit of a small fortune after everything was said and done, but it was worth it. He’d owned it off the books for years… It was a piece of property that he’d intended for this very purpose. A hide out, almost completely away from human civilization, that only he knew about. In the beginning, it was a retreat, a sanctuary of sorts, a place he’d decided to go to pull his head together, but now, with every passing day, it had become a prison of his own creation. A prison he didn’t know how, or even if he wanted, to leave.

_Week 2_

_Upon arriving back in Seattle, Jake’s men dispersed back to their normal duties, and Bellamy and his guys began packing up, getting ready to head back to New York after a day or so of rest and caution. Jake had locked himself in his house and hadn’t been seen nor heard from since, save for Lincoln who went to see him to ensure he was still alive. He came to see Bellamy after seeing Jake explaining he was leaving for New York to go see and check on Clarke, seeing as how her communication had been limited and brief with him during the week, and he figured he would stay with her for a little while and start to get things settled in the new city with his new gallery and apartment. He quickly said his goodbyes, saying he’d see Bellamy in the next few days in New York, before leaving to catch his plane, not knowing Bellamy had no intentions to see Lincoln, or anyone, for a good while._

_That currently was the ruckus Bellamy was hearing from downstairs… The guys packing up the SUVs and closing up the house not knowing when, if really, they’d ever be back. Things were so murky and unclear to them, it was hard to tell what was going to happen the next day, much less a couple of months from then._

_Bellamy stood at the window in the master bedroom, his bedroom, and looked out over the pristine backyard and the sound. The sky was dark with heavy rain clouds, but even with the threat of rain, Bellamy could still picture the sunny days he’d spent there, just enjoying the serenity. He’d always loved the house. First because Jake had given it to him and it was the first house he’d ever owned, and then later because of the peace and happiness he felt coming there, even with his loud guys… There were so many good memories that they’d created there over the years, but with the events of the last weeks, selling the property was at the forefront of his mind. All he felt there now was sadness of what could have been and the tainted memories of his time with Jake in Seattle. All Jake’s territory would one day be controlled by the Collins Family anyway, once Jake retired that is… Why would he ever come back? He’d be treated like a traitor and shot on sight. Yes… Selling was the way to go. Better someone else come in and make the house into family home with a loving husband and wife and their children and dog, than him keeping it and it remaining vacant, mocking him for what he lost and could never have._

_Standing there, chest tight in pain, heart heavy, and limbs weighed down, Bellamy thought again of perhaps his biggest mistake… Not saying ‘Yes’ to Jake at the airport upon his very first official visit to Seattle. He’d thought so many times of how things would be different… It was almost a constant loop running through his mind since leaving New York, and especially being in the house.  At night when the house was completely still and quiet and sleep mocked him, Bellamy swore he could hear sweet feminine laughter and small voices echo down the hall and music mixed with the clang of pots and pans from down stairs. His mind would then involuntarily picture lazy days in bed, blonde hair running through his fingers and blue eyes peering up at him sparkling, as the sun from a rare sunny day warmed the inhabitants under the sheets. Even now, Bellamy felt his mind slipping into a daydream… Or was it a hallucination? He didn’t know or care, but just enjoyed the brief moment of respite from the crushing emptiness…_

_A his eyes fell from the water to the lawn, he spotted it. There. There she was sitting on a large checkered blanket in the middle of the yard. She was turned away from him, barely giving him a side profile, but her blonde hair hanging down her back, shining in the imaginary sun, gave away it was her… It would always be her. There were remnants of a picnic laid out around her and a sketch book in her lap as she scribbled away, the object of her inspiration hidden off in the hedges of the garden, away from Bellamy’s curious gaze. As she took a moment to look up at what had captured her fascination so wholly, she paused, before her shoulders began shaking, in what Bellamy presumed was laughter, and her pencil dropped from her hand as it rose to cover her grinning mouth. Suddenly a small dog bound from the garden, causing Clarke to set aside the drawing supplies, petting the pup who came to plop down at her side, but still looking into the garden. Bellamy held his breath in anticipation of what had captured her attention, praying his mind wouldn’t be cruel and would reveal what had her so smitten… Suddenly a bush shook and a little child toddled out. Unconsciously, Bellamy leaned forward, wanting a better look, but all he could see was short dark hair. A boy. It was a little boy. He had to be a little over a year old, and seemed to be very cautious about the steps he was taking towards his mother who was obviously encouraging him toward her open arms. His little face was a blur, not clear at all, so Bellamy had no idea what he actually looked like… Whose eyes he had, or chin, or nose, but it was obvious to Bellamy that this was his child. It had to be right? Seeing as how this was his daydream/hallucination. About half way to his mother, the bushes behind the little boy moved a little and another little boy, dressed the same as the first came waddling out faster than the first boy, holding several small flowers, roots and all, making Bellamy chuckle. The second twin was not as careful as his brother, walking quick in his excitement and stumbling and falling a couple of times, only to pick himself back up and continue on his little quest to reach his mother. Bellamy’s heart seized in his chest as they both reached her and began babbling about their adventure. The first twin open his little fist that had been clinched to reveal something in his palm as proof of his adventure, while the second twin showed his mother his loot, earning him a kiss on the cheek, before his brother received the same reward for the rock he was holding out. The smile on Bellamy’s face had only grown watching the family… His family. The first twin looked up over his mother’s shoulder to the house and spotted Bellamy standing in the window, excitedly jabbering and pointing, succeeding in drawing the woman’s attention. As his Clarke began to turn to him, a soft knock resounded through the room, making Bellamy flinch and turn his gaze for a split second to the door, but that’s all it took._

_When he turned back, desperate to see her face, they were all gone… Everything was gone, and the smile on his face slipped away leaving no sign that it was ever there. He was very close to the window, with his hand pressed against the cold pane as rain hit it creating the soft pitter patter that used to sooth him to sleep, but now chilled him to the bone. Then, like every other time he was brought back to his reality, his heart fell to his feet and his already tight chest seized further, pushing the air right out of his lungs. It was like he was catching glimpses of an alternate reality where he and Clarke were together. The surprising thing about his latest daydream/hallucination was the lack of panic at the thought of having a child, or in this case children, and the degree of longing he had for the two little boys who didn’t even exist and never would. Bellamy felt their absence like a knife through the heart. If he were to ever even have children, there is no one he would have them with but Clarke. She was his one… The only one he’d ever want to go through such a fear, anxiety, terror inducing experience with. There would be no children without her, and he didn’t have her, it was as plain and simple as that._

_A knock on the door resounded through the room again, a little louder this time._

_“Enter.” Bellamy called hoarsely into the darkened room, before clearing his throat, still gazing out at the rain falling a little harder now. Bellamy dropped his hand from the window crossing his arms tightly across his chest, trying and failing to hold all the despair in. Miller entered, closing the door and leaning against it._

_“We’re ready when you are Boss.” Miller spoke quietly, as though afraid to break the silence in the room. The only acknowledgement he got was a barely visible nod of the head._

_A few moments passed before Bellamy turned and walked back over to the bed where his clothes were folded neatly in two piles next to his small empty duffel. His gun, phone, laptop, keys, sunglasses, and a blank folder containing clean foraged documents were also laid out on the bed. A special shirt in a Ziploc bag in the bottom of one of the clothes piles went unnoticed by Miller who was too focused on Bellamy to see everything that was laid out._

_“I need you to take the guy’s back to New York for me on the plane.” Bellamy spoke in a no-nonsense voice, neatly putting the two carefully selected clothes piles into the duffel bag. “I’ve got some errand to run here before leaving.” Bellamy said vaguely, his voice disembodied._

_“We’ll come with you Boss...” Miller tried protesting, afraid to leave the other man alone for any length of time, having no idea what the other man was thinking or planning or would do…_

_“No Miller.” Bellamy snapped. “Do as I say damn it. I still give the orders around here... That hasn’t changed.”_

_Miller shrunk back, nodding with his jaw clenched to keep from saying anything that would further upset the man. He hating he’d been the one to use up the last little bit of Bellamy’s already thin patience, but he was worried and upset that Bellamy was beginning to shut everyone out… Including his guys. Miller knew Bellamy hadn’t talked to his father or uncle since they’d left New York… That was understandable. But even his beloved grandmother hadn’t gotten more than a few words from him the whole week, and Miller had a suspicion she only got those because Bellamy knew she’d jump on a plane and come whip the shit out of him for ignoring all her calls and making her worry. Frankly, he’d never seen Bellamy like this before and that scared him more than he could express._

_Bellamy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling harshly, before turning and apologizing. “I’m sorry Miller. Please do as I ask, okay? I’ll be fine. I swear.”_

_Miller nodded reluctantly, not believing a word he said and having a gut feeling something was up. Something didn’t feel right, but there was nothing he could do about it. Bellamy saw them all off, with many suspicious worried looks thrown his way, all of which he ignored. Once the tail lights disappeared down the long drive way, Bellamy headed back into the house, into his bedroom to finish packing._

_Once his clothes and personals were where he wanted them, Bellamy grabbed the duffel and went in search of the emergency stash of cash he had in the hidden safe under the false bottom of his bathroom sink. In addition to taking a hundred and fifty thousand from the safe, Bellamy grabbed one of the Glocks and extra clips from the safe before locking it up tight, replacing the false bottom of the sink. Better to have guns, even if his hands weren’t as steady holding one they used to be. Quickly Bellamy packed all the cash in his go bag… Fourteen stacks of all hundreds’ quickly disappeared into the bag, tucked between the articles of his clothing, but one was set aside and laid on top of the bag. Grabbing the gun and the clip, Bellamy brought the bag back into the bedroom setting it on the bed. Grabbing his leather jacket from the closet, Bellamy donned it on before slipping the stack of hundred dollar bills amounting to ten grand into the inner chest pocket of the jacket next to Clarke’s letter… He’d need that money sooner, rather than later. Unloading the Glock, Bellamy packed that away in the duffel with the two clips. Picking up his Eagle, he tucked that away in the holster of his jacket. His laptop, phone, keys, and watch were all left neatly arranged on the bed, all having GPS tracking. Bellamy left his wallet there as well… Its contents wouldn’t be needed, not where he was going anyway. Lastly, Bellamy laid the blank folder on top of his clothes, before zipping up the bag._

_Walking over to his desk, Bellamy picked up the letter he wrote for his guys explaining that he needed some time on his own to get himself straightened out, to listen to Marcus while he was gone, and that he’d be back, but that he didn’t know when. Re-reading it one more time, he laid that to be found with all the traceable items on the bed for when his guys came looking for him. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Bellamy pulled his pocket knife and cut the tracker out of his boot, leaving that with everything else, before tucking the knife away again._

_Standing and grabbing his duffel, Bellamy silently slung it over his back, heading for the door, but paused realizing he was missing something. Something he really couldn’t leave without. Walking back over to the bed, Bellamy picked up his wallet, slowly slipping the wallet sized picture out. It was taken the day he and Clarke had gone to see the Statute of Liberty. Gazing at the picture of her standing on the ferry looking at the camera with her shining blue eyes, and mischievous smile, Bellamy allowed a brief small smile to flash across his face… That had been a good day. Tucking the picture away in his jacket chest pocket with the cash and letter, Bellamy left for the garage after making sure the doors in the house were locked. When he got back he’d look into selling the place._

_Clicking the garage door open, Bellamy saw that it had stopped raining, not that it was a deciding factor in his mode of transportation… Grabbing the keys he needed and a helmet, Bellamy slung his duffel strap over his chest, dawned his helmet and started the motorcycle… Immediately the MV Agusta F3 800 started, purring to life. Rolling out of the garage, Bellamy hit the fob closing the door, before racing up the drive way, slowing the bike to allow the gates to open. When they were open, he typed the code needed to close and lock the gates behind him before stuffing the garage door fob into the back of the mailbox. Then he was off once more heading for Jake’s house._

_Pulling up to the gate, the guard immediately let Bellamy through upon recognizing him. After parking his bike, Bellamy walked up to the front door where a maid instantly greeted him, directing him to Jake’s office when prompted._

_Seeing as how Lincoln had forewarned that Jake didn’t want to see anyone and rejected people who knocked on his door, Bellamy didn’t bother knocking, and just waltzed in to find Jake slumped over his desk… Bellamy wrinkled his nose at the smell emanating from the office and squinted his eyes in the darkened room. Pausing to set his bag by the door, Bellamy walked over to the either sleeping, unconscious, or dead man and held two fingers to Jake’s neck searching for a pulse, quickly finding a steady one._

Okay, so sleeping or unconscious. _Bellamy thought._

_Noticing for the first time the tipped over empty tumbler on the desk and the damn near empty bottle on top of the wet bar, Bellamy assumed it was the latter. Rolling his eyes, knowing he didn’t have time for this if he was going to catch his flight in time, Bellamy whistled loudly, hoping the maid caught on to his call… Jake didn’t even flinch at the noise, or when Bellamy began pulling open the thick curtains of the windows and opening them all. It allowed for a bit of the light from outside in, even with the cloud cover, and would hopefully air the room out… Switching on a lamp, Bellamy noticed the maid had appeared._

_“I need a bucket of icy cold water and a little information… Water first though.” Bellamy said sternly. If the woman’s widening eyes were anything to go by, he’d obviously frightened her. She nodded quickly running out of the room, before coming back several moments later with the pitcher of water like he’d asked. “Where is Abby Griffin?” Bellamy asked, less sternly, hoping to calm her some, so she’d be more forthcoming in her answers._

_“She-She’s at the hospital. On shift. She gets off at 6.” The small woman answered in a rush._ Of course that’s where the witch was, _Bellamy thought with a roll of his eyes. He really didn’t have the time or patience for this shit._

_“Do you have a list of contact numbers?” Bellamy asked. He hadn’t even finished asking the question before she was nodding her head and rushing from the room, only to reappear with a thin white sheet. Taking it from her, Bellamy dismissed her, instructing her to leave the door open… The rank smell was still lingering._

_Finding the number he needed, Bellamy used Jake’s office phone to place a call seeing as how he’d ditched his own phone. After two rings, the guy on the other end of the phone picked up, with a, “Hey Boss.”_

_“Hey Wick, it’s Blake not Griffin. Listen, I need you to get over to his place ASAP. Linc’s not here, and you’re the next in line to handle this shit.” Bellamy spoke swiftly, leaving no room for argument._

_“Yeah, I was already on my way over to see what was up. I’m like fifteen minutes out.” Wick responded._

_“Great.” Bellamy said before abruptly hanging up. Grabbing the pitcher of water, Bellamy took a couple of calculated steps back before throwing the water on the unconscious, probably blacked-out, man._

_Jake woke with a great heaving gasp, flying up from the desk to lean back in his chair, angrily yelling “What the hell?”, frantically trying to get the water out of his face and eyes like it was acid instead of H2O._

_Bellamy’s only response was to roll his eyes at the man’s actions and set the pitcher down on the now soaking desk, before saying, “Stop being so extra.”_

_Squinting, Jake asked, “Bellamy?” Causing Bellamy to once again roll his eyes… They were going to get stuck if he kept going at this rate._

_“No, it’s the Ghost of Christmas fucking Past. Yes, it’s me!” Bellamy snapped. “Now get the hell up!”_

_Jake just groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Can you tone it down damn it? This hangover is liable to kill me.”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry.” Bellamy whispered. “GET THE HELL UP!” Bellamy roared, milliseconds from reaching across the soaked desk and strangling the older man._

_Jake glared, jumping up pissed at the attitude, orders, and treatment from Bellamy of all people. “Watch-”_

_“Before you start with me,” Bellamy interrupted what was sure to be a very interesting rant. “Don’t.” He said with a menacing glare. “I came here to tell you I’m leaving. My people will be here looking for me in a couple days, tell them what you know, but they won’t be able to find me. Tell them I said not to look for me, I’ll come back in my own damn time.”_

_“Well, you going to tell me where you’re going?” Jake asked annoyed._

_“…No.” Bellamy said after a long pause, giving him a ‘you’re-so-ridiculous-why-the-hell-would-I-ever-do-that’ look. “Don’t worry about me and what I’m doing. I’ll be fine. You on the other hand, need to pull yourself together and get your shit straight. I don’t care what you have to do, who you have to talk to, just get functional. If you fall apart or become reckless, your putting not just yourself and Abby at risk, but Clarke and Lincoln as well. They’re who I give a damn about. Clarke’s not ready right now to take over for you if you completely loose it and check out mentally, and if you get taken out by someone looking to take your spot while your weak and distracted, you are literally throwing her sacrifice away, which by no means is acceptable… Got me? Fix your shit and pull yourself together.” Bellamy said darkly._

_Jake nodded grudgingly, reluctantly admitting to himself that the younger man making a lot of sense. “I just miss her, you know? My own daughter.” Jake said desolately. “She won’t answer any of my calls or messages and I want to go see her but-”_

_“No, no, no.” Bellamy said cutting the other man off quickly and harshly. “You don’t get to do that, okay? Not with me you don’t. Just… No. I don’t want to hear a damn word of that. You put yourself here, so live with the consequences of your mistakes… God knows the rest of us are.” Bellamy said bitterly, turning and walking for the door, quickly grabbing his duffel before exiting. On his way to his bike, he and Wick intercepted each other._

_Quickly shaking hands, Bellamy explained briefly what was going on and what Wick needed to do to get Jake and the Griffin Organization back in working order. “Get him off the bottle, out of that office, and into a shower. Get him presentable, and then get him in front of an audience of the men to execute that traitor to send a message through the ranks that disloyalty will not be tolerated. Lincoln needs to be in New York as much as possible right now, so handle as much as you can here on your own, and only call him if shit looks like its gonna start blowing up. I’m leaving for a while, and I expect that nobody will be able to find me, however, that being said, I’m not going to be completely out of range. I’ll message you from a burner so you’ll have that number as a just in case. Only you will have that number. Use it to call me as a last resort only, as in, you are under attack, the city is burning to the ground, and Jake is curled into a fetal position on his office floor sucking his thumb, got it?” Bellamy asked firmly. There could be no room for error… He did not want to be found, but he couldn’t be completely out of range in case he had to come back to clean up someone’s mess. Again._

_Wick just nodded his head somberly, “Yeah, I got it man. The wife and I will watch Jake closely, and keep Linc in the loop. The wife has been talking to Clarke a lot, but from what I hear Clarke doesn’t care to hear too much about anything over here unless it involves…” Wick stopped talking abruptly, realizing he was about to slip up and say something Raven had expressly forbidden him from saying. Bellamy, keeping his face completely blank at the mention of Clarke, raised a single eyebrow, daring him not to finish his statement. “… certain people. Thanks though. For everything.” He covered quickly, hoping to end the conversation and not be questioned further._

_Bellamy just nodded acceptingly, willing his mind not to over-analyze everything he’d heard. Wick waved as he began to walk off. “Oh, Wick,” Bellamy called, causing the other man to turn around. “If you give that number to anyone and they track me down, I’ll shoot you dead.” Bellamy said calmly, before turning and walking over to his bike, slipping his helmet on before straddling the bike, turning it on and tearing out of the driveway headed right for the airport._

_Bypassing the security and terminals, Bellamy went straight to the hanger where the Alaskan cargo plane was being loaded and fueled. Leaving the helmet with his bike, Bellamy grabbed his duffel and tossed the keys to some guy ogling the motorcycle, telling him he could have it before heading for the plane. The GPS in the bike would keep his guys confused for a little while, running in circles. Walking up the ramp, Bellamy was met by the pilot, expecting to be paid for taking on a little extra cargo, off the books of course, to which Bellamy promptly handed over the ten grand in his chest pocket making sure he didn’t accidentally drop the letter or picture. Not a word was exchanged, but the deadly glare Bellamy threw his way warned the man to never speak of the incident and not to double cross him, both of which the pilot responded to with a serious nod. Thirty minutes later the cargo plane was in the air headed for the Alaskan wilderness._

_Upon landing at Seward Airport, Bellamy disembarked and was greeted by the sight of a retired ex-mob member that Bellamy had helped get out several years before by faking his death. Tristan was a stoic fierce man in his mid to late 50’s with hard eyes that belied all the dark things he’d done and seen in his life. The older scarred man had a soft spot for Bellamy due to the fact that not only had Bellamy and his guys gotten him and his daughter out of the city after his wife’s death, but when Tristan had nowhere to go that was hidden enough that he could make a living for him and his daughter, Bellamy quietly set him up in a position to be a grounds maintenance worker for the land and cabin Bellamy owned in Alaska, in his absence. Tristan had a house and land at the base of the mountain, semi-close to the town of Bear Creek, that abutted Bellamy’s own property._

_Bellamy had called Tristan the night they’d gotten back to Seattle, already knowing he wasn’t going back to New York with his guys and having nowhere else to go that people wouldn’t look for him. After putting on his sunglasses and baseball cap that had been brought along with him, Bellamy and Tristan began the lengthy walk to Tristan’s truck, quietly filling the time with low conversation… Tristan about his daughter and what he’d been up to since Bellamy’s last weekend trip to the cabin years before, and Bellamy about the political shift that was going on in the organization. Tristan said that he’d heard a little about what was going on from some of his smuggler friends, but didn’t ask them, not wanting to draw attention to himself._

_Once they got to the truck, Tristan briefly took Bellamy into the small town to get him some basic supplies that he’d need. Bellamy also picked up a cheap burner phone that he’d use for contacting Wick with. When he had everything that he thought he’d need, the two men headed north out of Seward towards the residential community of Bear Creek, turning off the main highway on a hidden driveway that looked abandoned. After getting out and moving a log stopping people from entering, they moved forward before replacing it and continued to head for Tristan’s place where Tristan had stored the ATV that Bellamy would use to travel the main worn trail slightly up the mountain through the woods to the cabin. The trails in the surrounding woods were a tight fit, and thus having the ATV would provide useful to Bellamy for getting around in the woods on the property wherever he wanted to go. After tying everything down on the ATV, Tristan invited Bellamy inside for dinner, and invitation which Bellamy accepted seeing as how he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten… That was dangerous being out in the middle of nowhere with no one around for miles._

_Going inside, Bellamy was greeted by the sight of a young blonde woman in her late teens, maybe even her early twenties, whom Tristan re-introduced as Bree. Bellamy greeted her aloofly, but politely, vaguely remembering a child from many years ago, not this young woman. She was attractive in a thin delicate way, but didn’t capture Bellamy’s interest, even in the slightest. He only had one type, and that type was firmly attached to one sole person with a name, and Bree wasn’t it. It was obvious to Bellamy that Bree was interested in him if her subtle flirting and heated gaze indicated anything about her behavior and intentions. Bellamy made sure to project as much of a rejection as he could into his body language and gaze when having to speak to her, but feared it didn’t work as he’d hoped it would. After dinner, Bellamy was quick to duck out, but was stopped by Tristan who went to retrieve the riffle and box of bullets he stored there for Bellamy to use, giving them to him, before asking when he’d be down to stock up on supplies again._

_Bellamy instead pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over… It was a supplies list. Bellamy asked that Tristan get those items for him and take them half way up the main trail road leading to the cabin, where there was a bend in the road, and leave them in a duffel bag behind the large rock that sat there in five days’ time. Tristan agreed willingly, telling Bellamy to use the cheap cell phone if he needed anything else, before Bellamy set off_ _on his own to his very much welcomed self-imposed exile._

Still gazing out the window, something he’d found himself doing a lot these days, Bellamy silently mulled over leaving. He’d been here for a little longer than a month or so. Was he ready to leave? The answer? A simple no. Not yet. While the place was feeling like a prison more and more every day, the idea of leaving created a wide gaping pit in his gut. He was a coward who just wasn’t ready to face reality.

As much as he tried, he couldn’t seem to get his shit together for nothing… Perhaps that’s because his mind and his heart just weren’t in it… Not really. He just felt haunted. Or perhaps it was he who was doing the haunting… The locals believed the mountain was haunted by an elusive shadow that lived in the woods, often told as a scary story to keep small children out of the woods, but maybe there was some truth to the myth, and he was it. He felt like nothing but a shadow in the trees sometimes.

Shaking himself out of his dark thoughts, Bellamy moved away from the window, grabbing his empty coffee mug and heading for the sink to wash it, thinking of what he had to do that day. He was running a bit low on firewood, so that meant he would be going out to chop some if he was going to be staying a little longer… He should probably go check the supplies drop to see if Tristan had left him anything, but that would just depend. On what? Whether or not he could find the will to go and do things, something he’d had an increasing problem with as the days continued to pass. It’s like his drive to do anything that wasn’t strictly necessary just seeped from him little by little. Food and warmth were necessary, so after drinking a big glass of water, Bellamy he headed for the stairs to grab his boots and thick jacket from his room, ignoring his throbbing head, hoping the water and coffee would work to calm his hangover soon.

Walking into the large master bedroom, Bellamy headed straight for the closet grabbing his woolen coat and throwing it on the bed before stooping to grab his boots on the closet floor. Righting himself, Bellamy’s eyes caught on the bag sitting on the shelf in the closet. Grabbing his boots in one hand, Bellamy slowly reached for the Ziploc bag, bringing it down, and holding it carefully, as though its contents would break. Turning and closing the door with his foot, Bellamy walked to the bed and sat heavily on the foot of it, dropping his boots between his spread legs and laying the bag on the bed beside him. Quickly Bellamy slipped on and laced up his boots, tying and double knotting them, before reaching for the clear bag. Opening it, Bellamy withdrew the carefully folded dark blue hospital scrub shirt, feeling the soft material underneath his rough hands, as well as the small picture and folded letter resting on the top of it. The bag and letter were set aside as he focused on the picture, and the feeling of brushing the pad of his thumb over the monogrammed name on the front of the shirt... _Clarke Griffin_. Bellamy closed his eyes as perfume from the shirt teased his senses, enticing him to bring it closer for a deeper inhale which is exactly what he did. For a brief moment, the ache in his chest lessened, the vise around his heart released, and his headache ceased. For a brief moment, everything fell away and he was no longer in a cabin in the frigid Alaskan wilderness, but was instead five thousand miles and four time zones across the world with her… They were in their warm bedroom getting ready for their long respective days at work, him sitting on the edge of their bed tying his shoes or fixing his tie, listening as she hummed to herself as she dressed in the closet or did her hair in the bathroom.

Pulling away from one of the few things he had to remember her by and the scene that only existed in his head, Bellamy looked at the picture in his hand. The first weeks he’d been at the cabin, he hadn’t taken the picture out, having no need to, but as the weeks had passed and the days rolled on, sometimes blurring together, Bellamy felt ashamed to admit that he had begun to lose her face in his memory, as well as small details about her. Major events and things they did together were never an issue to remember, nor the sensations he’d experienced, both emotionally and physically, but she herself was harder to remember, sometimes becoming nothing but a blur in his mind’s eye. What was the exact shade of her eyes? Blue like the sky, or blue like the clear water from the bay? Funny enough, he could remember the light grey hue her eyes took on when she was in pain and sad, even though that was one thing he wished to forget. But what about her hair? Was it golden like the brief rays of the sun that sometimes shone through the heavy layers of the forest surrounding his cabin, or was it a paler golden color like the flowers the grew in the forest farther down the mountain? He remembered that her skin was warm and soft to the touch, but it wasn’t as white as snow, was it? She had color and life in her… Perhaps he only remembered her white as snow because that’s the color she always was in his reoccurring nightmares, white as a sheet of snow, unnervingly still, with pale blue lips and empty clouded eyes. She used to blush at his touch or at things he’d sometimes say or do… Was it a soft pink color, or blazing red? He remembered that she always had her toe nails painted, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the last color she had chosen to wear. Green? Orange? Violet?

When the panic began to consume him, fear that he was losing all he really had of her, he began turning to the picture more and more to remember. Then the question crept up of, what was he going to do 40 years from then, if he lived that long, when the picture faded, her shirt no longer smelled like her, and his old mind could no longer accurately conjure up any of the good memories of their time together as clearly and sharply as he could now… It was bound to get worst with time, after all, time did nothing but decay memories until they were just memories of impressions. That he had already been a witness to, and it frightened him more than he was willing to admit to himself that it was happening after only a month and a half of separation. He was going to die an old man, all alone, without a family, his people, or his memories, leaving behind nothing in his wake as a legacy but a company and a laundry list of unsolved murders that he would be taking with him to the grave. Before he’d met Clarke, the idea had never haunted him the way it did now. Before Clarke, he’d been accepting that he’d be alone… He didn’t necessarily want to be alone, but he recognized that he’d probably be that way for all his life, and, strangely enough, he’d been okay with that. Resigned. But then he’d met her, and he started to dream and plan and hope and long for a future where he didn’t have to be alone, and just that little taste he’d had of not being alone, had ruined him for singlehood. Losing her had been a real blow, and he’d become a weakened man because of it…

_A glutton for punishment and pain…_ Bellamy sadly thought thinking back to his biggest weakness since leaving.

_Week 3 (2 weeks at the cabin)_

_While the problem he had set out to eliminate had been taken care of, and he’d gotten his revenge, it hadn’t helped like Bellamy thought it would… It merely gave him something to do for a week._

_He’d been on his own for a little over a week... A full week at the cabin having seen no one but himself occasionally in the bathroom mirror, and even then, avoiding his reflection had become a habit._

_During the days on his own, Bellamy could find things to occupy himself with, but during the short nights after the sun had gone down and twilight had ended, with nothing else to do until dawn of the next day, Bellamy found himself at his lowest. After having suffered an entire week of tossing and turning for hours before finally falling asleep and succumbing to various nightmares, sleep to Bellamy wasn’t just evasive… It was unwanted, knowing that it was more of the same that he had to look forward to._

_It was on one of these short dark nights, that Bellamy found himself reaching for the burner cell phone he’d bought during the first hours of his escape. More than he would like, Bellamy found himself feeling and thinking of himself like a convict on the run, hiding from the authorities, instead of someone taking some time to retreat and get his priorities in line._

_Looking around, while fumbling under the couch for it, Bellamy took in his dismal surroundings… He was in the living space of the cabin, on the leather couch in front of the blazing fireplace that was heating the room. The roaring fire was the only source of light in the cabin as no other lights were on, and there was no light filtering in from outside the window, having just watched twilight fade, replaced with the dark of night. In one hand was a glass of clear liquid, definitely not water, and in the other was the simple small black device that had been successfully located from its hiding spot. Leaning back into the cushions, Bellamy pressed down on the red end button, watching as the phone screen came to life and the keyboard became backlit. Bellamy took a moment to silently questioned himself as to what he was doing, but the moment passed, no answer coming back to him. As the phone completely turned on, Bellamy observed the time, 12:45 AM, and the day, Saturday. He was almost at the end of his second week of being at the cabin… Three total weeks almost to the day, when he had left her asleep in her bed, with nothing but a letter in his absence._

_Not thinking at all clearly, his alcohol deluded mind was too far gone when his thumb began punching in numbers to the phone number he knew by heart, before hesitating on the green send button. Giving in, not having the strength to delete the number and turn the phone back off, Bellamy applied a little pressure to the button and it was calling. Bringing it up to his ear, Bellamy leaned forward to sit on the edge of the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, waiting with baited breath to see what would happen…_

_One ring…_

_Two rings…_

_Three…_

_“Hello?”_

_His heart stuttered in his chest, and he couldn’t breathe… Couldn’t swallow. He sat frozen, staring blankly at the fire in front of him. She was there. He’d just heard her voice. It had felt like a lifetime since he’d heard it. God how he’d missed it._

_“Hello?” Came her voice again. “Is someone there?” This time Bellamy focused closely, listening to how her voice, while distinguishable that it was hers, sounded nothing like her… It sounded flat. Dead._

_With great difficulty, Bellamy swallowed around the lump in his throat, opening his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out, not a single sound._

_“Listen, if you don’t say anything, I’m going to hang up.” She continued on in the same disembodied voice._

_The room started to spin making Bellamy gently let out the breath he’d been involuntarily holding and quietly inhale a breath, not waiting to pass out from oxygen deprivation. Still not possessing the capabilities of speech, Bellamy closed his eyes, waiting for the click that would signal she’d hung up… Comforted to at least have actually heard her voice._

_His heart was still pounding rapidly, but it about came out of his chest when he quietly heard her breathe through the line, “Bellamy? Is that you?”_

_His eyes flew open, startled so bad that she had called his name, the heavy glass of moonshine he’d been holding dropped to the floor, hitting the rug with a thump allowing its toxic contents to spill, but Bellamy didn’t care. She’d said his name. She knew it was him._

_His eyes closed again, despite his erratic heartbeat and his anxiety over being recognized and called out, he relished in how good it felt hearing her sweet voice saying his name. If he’d been standing he would have fallen to the floor, his knees too week to hold him up._

_But then the reason he’d left and didn’t come back returned to him. He had to stop. He was messing with her trying to move on. He was so stupid. He couldn’t do this, not to her… He couldn’t be that person to screw up all her efforts to be okay._

_“Please don’t hang up!” She said slightly louder, sounding panicked, but still whispering. Like almost all the many times before, he gave in, unconsciously doing what she asked of him, and bringing the phone fully back to his ear. How she knew he’d begun to pull the phone away from his ear slightly to hit the end button, he didn’t know… Did she know him that well? He wanted her to know him that well, and for that he hated himself._

_“Just don’t hang up.” She whispered. Why was she whispering, he wanted to ask, but his vocal chords and mind refused to allow him to speak… Instead his mind flittered through reasons why she’d been whispering. Had she been sleeping? If it was one o’clock in the morning where he was, it was nine o’clock in the evening over there where she was. She could have been sleeping if she had an early shift the next morning or had just come off a long double, and was talking quietly because she’d just been woken and didn’t want to disturb the silence around her. Silently Bellamy berated himself for not thinking and calling her so late. Or was she whispering because there were other people with her and she didn’t want them to overhear her conversation… Then an awful thought hit him like a lightning bolt through the heart. Was she with just one person? It would have to be Finn… Were they going out, now that he was out of the picture, trying to get to know each other in preparation for their upcoming wedding and marriage?_

_Despite the pain radiating through his chest at the thought of Finn currently waiting for her, a small part of Bellamy rejoiced that she had asked him not to hang up, instead of doing that very thing and heading back to his half-brother. Bellamy wondered if, when they eventually hung up, would she tell him that it was him on the phone, or would she lie and say it was someone else because the truth would start a fight in their new relationship._

_The breath stalled in his lungs… He was hindering her efforts to move on with her life, like he’d told her he wouldn’t do in his letter. He was making it hard for her to be faithful to his half-brother, which is exactly what he left to prevent from happening._ Just another broken promise added on to the fire… _Bellamy thought bitterly. Why did he do this to her and himself? His subconscious didn’t hesitate in responding with,_ Because you’re a glutton for punishment and pain. _And in that moment, he believed the vicious voice, because deep down, the thing he wanted more than anything, besides being with her, was for her to wish it was him that she was with, and not Finn. Never Finn._

_“Are you-” She started talking again, her voice still a low murmur, but hoarse. She stopped and cleared her voice, before trying again, asking sadly, “Are you okay? No one has heard from you for close to two weeks.”_

No, I’m not okay. _He wanted to respond, but didn’t. Couldn’t._

_After a beat, she asked, “Are you safe wherever you are? Are-are you happy?” Her voice broke, tears beginning to flood her voice. “Are you ever coming back?” She asked hesitantly, almost as if she was afraid to hear the answer. When Bellamy still didn’t respond, he heard her take a deep, choking, breath._

_“Bellamy? Won’t you say something?” She asked pleadingly quiet. Tears more evident in her voice as she continued to speak. “I don’t even know if it’s really you there, or if I’m just a crazy person imagining you’re there, because I want you to be. I feel in my gut you’re really there, but I just don’t know.” She said clearly distraught._

_His heart broke, and he felt his eyes burn with moisture. He wanted to say something to reassure her she wasn’t crazy, oh how he wanted to, but what would he say?_ I’m here? I love you? I’m sorry? I want to be home with you? _How would any of that help the fact that he fucked everything up by calling her?_

_“Clarke?” A familiar voice called distantly from the other end of the phone. His grandmother. The relief in his body in that instance was powerful. She wasn’t with Finn… At least not exclusively at that moment. “You’ve been gone a good minute, who is it dear?”_

_Bellamy could hear Clarke gasp in surprise at the voice, and a shuffling sound over the other end of the phone as she turned to the intruder. He felt frozen, unable to make a move to hang up. “It’s- I don’t-I’m-…” Clarke struggled, “Just give me a minute Amelia, please.” Clarke requested sounding slightly panicked, taking short gasps. In his mind’s eye, he could see her anxiously running her hand roughly through her hair, combing it back with her fingers to get it out of her eyes._

_“Honey, why are you crying, is everything okay?” His grandmothers deeply concerned voice was nearer to the phone, so Bellamy assumed she was approaching Clarke._

_“No. I mean yes. I don’t-” Clarke rapidly tried answering her, but a sob escaped her, and suddenly she was back on the line speaking to him, “Please, Bellamy,” She plead desperately, not bothering to keep her voice down anymore, “Say something.” She cried. He heard a loud gasp from his grandmother, and another deep voice in the background ask, “What in the hell is going on in here?” It wasn’t hard to recognize his own father’s voice._

_Quickly, before he’d have to hang up, Bellamy managed to find his voice, only able to get out three small honestly broken words from the knot tied in his throat choking the life from him._

_“I miss you.”_

_Her sob from the other end of the phone had his own tears falling down his cheeks, before the sweet last words, “I miss you too.”, fell from the lips of his angel, and he knew that was it. That was their goodbye._

_Bellamy heard his grandmother call out frightened, “Lincoln, catch her!” Before there was a big commotion on the other end of the phone, the phone sounding like it was dropped in the disarray before being picked up and passed around… He could clearly hear Clarke still sobbing in the background, Lincoln and his grandmother futilely trying to calm her to no avail, immediately followed by his father’s voice, “Bellamy-”_

_Quickly drawing the phone from his ear and pressing the end button, Bellamy let the phone drop from his hand like a hot iron, before dropping his head into his hands and weeping. That night he grieved, letting everything he’d tried holding back for weeks flood forward and sweep him under. All the rage, sorrow, despair, misery, and heartache he tried and failed to hold in was unleashed, and all Bellamy could do was grieve._

_The next day, Bellamy hadn’t been able to get out of bed. His limbs felt weighed down by anchors, and he felt like death warmed over. The day after, he’d gotten himself up and gone outside to sit and just let the silence and cool air take over his senses._

Sitting on the bed, Bellamy grimaced… That had been a very dark time for him. His lowest during his low. Carefully folding up the scrub shirt, Bellamy placed it back in the bag, along with her picture and the letter. He rarely ever read the letter anymore. In the beginning, he’d ended up reading it so much he had it pretty much memorized. He only brought it out nowadays to see her love written on the page… He had it written down and he’d certainly felt it when in her presence, but it was just never heard. Placing the bag back in the closet on the shelf for the next time he got nostalgic, Bellamy walked back down stairs, his heavy boots making deep thumping sounds that reverberated through the still cabin. Grabbing his knife and gun, Bellamy stowed the former in his boot and opted to carry the other to the ATV where he had put a holster. Grabbing the key he needed for the small vehicle, Bellamy headed out for the day. 

On his way to the sight where he’d found a dead fallen tree, Bellamy contemplated all he’d done during his time in Alaska. Being out in the middle of nature had soothed something inside of him, despite his numerous problems and dark emotions never seemingly far away. It especially helped after that night. The crisp clean air made him feel like he could actually breathe, despite the vise around his chest and the constant ache he’d grown accustom to.

During his third week at the cabin (four weeks since he’d left) he spent most of his time outdoors. Hunting, laying traps and snares, fishing, hiking, cutting firewood, fixing up the old land rover he had stashed in the back garage, and beginning to build a smokehouse were all things he devoted his daylight, and some of his twilight/night, hours to. He purposefully kept himself busy to avoid repeating the incident that happened the week before, but also to give his mind a break from all the worry he’d been doing over his and his guy’s future. He’d actually finished the smokehouse last week, and the rover was close to being done, just a few parts needed that he’d had Tristan order for him.

Getting to the felled tree, Bellamy turned the small vehicle off and grabbed the ax and gloves off the front, before getting to work… He’d contemplated borrowing Tristan’s chainsaw the first week, but had enjoyed the physical exertion of wood chopping. _I would kill to have that chainsaw right about now,_ Bellamy thought gritting his teeth as his stitches continuously pulled with the rhythmic swing of the ax. Once he had a nice pile of medium and small size logs, Bellamy began to pile them onto the back basket-rack of the ATV. He had enough here to last him a couple days or so in addition to the small stash he still had at the cabin. By the time he was done with everything, a couple hours had passed due to Bellamy’s lagging movements and the excessive number of breaks taken, trying not to damage his wounds further… His whole side still felt like it was on fire though. After everything was loaded, Bellamy sat on the ATV, slid opened his jacket and raised his shirt up to see if he’d busted any of his stitches. After removing the bandage he’d placed on it after his shower that morning, Bellamy was met with the ugly red gashes that were sure to scar, held together by the neat line of looped stitches. As much as he was reluctant to admit it, the bastard had done good job sewing him up.

Bellamy grimaced before covering his mauled side and lowering his shirt, letting his jacket flap back to his side. Looking around, Bellamy took a deep breath and listened to the sounds of the forest around him, letting his mind wander for a moment, hoping his side would stop trying to burn him alive before he made the return trip to the cabin. It was a little hard to believe he’d been able to hide out here for as long as he had in the shadow of the mountain, without being found and dragged back by any number of people, mainly his father and uncle. Then again, he had needed and worked hard to fall completely off the grid with everything that had gone down back in New York… It appeared his efforts had been successful, thankfully. Well, for the most part… Except that one unexpected turn of events that would have made Bellamy laugh in genuine amusement if he hadn’t been close to bleeding out and it was happening to anyone but him…

_Week 5 (4 weeks at the cabin)_

_His breathing was ragged, and his whole body was trembling with surges of adrenaline. The bloody knife in his hand had come in handy when he’d pulled it from his boot and thrust it up into the beast that was trying to tear his throat out. Looking down at the dead wolf at his feet, Bellamy tried calming his breathing and racing heart, his efforts working but working slowly. Bending down to inspect if the animal had any obvious signs why it would attack, Bellamy suddenly hissed at the pain flaring up in his side. Looking down at the shredded state his clothes were in, Bellamy began working to uncover where the source of his pain was coming from, finally coming across the claw marks. Silently cursing at the sight of all the blood, Bellamy began stripping his jacket and shirt off, leaving his undershirt on, before putting his jacket back on. Using the clean part of the shirt, Bellamy pressed it to the wounds and applied as much pressure as he dared, trying to stem the bleeding ‘til he could get to his med kit with the sutures at the cabin. Quickly checking, Bellamy was somewhat mollified to see the wolf had no visible sign of rabies… It was either a lone wolf hungry enough to take its chances with the first thing it came across or it was naturally aggressive. Bellamy was betting on the former, with the small size and thinness of the mutt being his clues._

_Stumbling back the good distance to where he’d parked the ATV before embarking on his evening walk, Bellamy hauled himself onto the seat, still shaking slightly from the adrenaline, quickly starting it and taking off for the cabin. Bellamy could feel his fingers that were inside his jacket holding pressure to his side as they became soaked with his own blood, having already bled through his T-shirt. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Bellamy made sure to park the small vehicle in the allotted space in the garage, before awkwardly maneuvering himself to the cabin front door, pushing it open and close behind him and heading for the fire, quickly stoking a fire to get it burning hotter in case he was going to have to cauterize the wound after getting a better look at it. As he was stoking the fire, Bellamy paused mid-movement, feeling something off with his environment. He was either getting rusty after only a month being away, or it was the blood loss that had him not sensing it before he walked in, much less the next second after he walked in._

_Standing up, Bellamy rolled his neck and shoulders to loosen the tension there, before turning with the hot poker in hand at his side. Bellamy met the practically glowing steely ice blue eyes of a stranger who was leaning casually against the wall behind the front door, semi-shrouded in the shadows cast by the slow falling sun outside, holding a gun on him… Keeping his face blank, perhaps even bored looking, Bellamy took a closer look at the man, noting long dark brown hair, thick 5 o’clock shadow, and two matching scars on his face starting above his eyebrows running down his temples to stop at the top of his cheeks. He was about as tall as Bellamy. However, unlike Bellamy, he was wearing thick furs and heavy boots, both of which had seen better days, and had slight smudges of dirt gracing his slim narrow face and fingers peeking out of leather gloved hands._

So, probably an assassin. Great… _Bellamy thought sardonically._ Basically, exactly what I expected and wanted to come home to. Having to take out an assassin while bleeding out, then stitch myself up. Fun times…

_When bleeding out, Bellamy was a very sarcastic person… His guys could attest to that fun fact wholeheartedly._

_“Well, are you going to use that gun, or just gawk at this fine piece of male specimen all day?” Bellamy snapped wryly, goadingly. Bellamy watched as the stranger’s mouth twitched as if to smile, before it quickly turned into a slight smirk and he spoke._

_“I don’t swing that way…” He said, his voice deep and raspy. “Sorry for the disappointment.” He said, smirk growing as he pushed off the wall and moved forward into the light a bit more, slowly lowering the gun as he walked by the lamp on the end table, using his barrel of his gun to hold up something Bellamy had not seen upon his rushed entrance minutes before. “This yours?” Stranger asked, smirk still firmly in place holding up a purple bra. Bellamy’s face contorted in confusion and disgust for a moment before things clicked in his head and he realized he had another visitor, this one female and naked, both things he did not want to deal with at the moment… Or ever really._

_Quickly, Bellamy grew pissed at the ridiculousness surrounding him and used that rage to fuel his next movements. Shooting Stranger/Possible Assassin a cold look daring him to hold that gun on him again, Bellamy dropped the poker back into the fire and headed for the kitchen._

_Grabbing a clip for his gun from the clay jar supposedly holding rice on the counter and the actual gun from where it was taped in a holster under the table, Bellamy loaded it on his way back to the living space and up the stairs, bypassing Stranger/Possible Assassin, who was still standing where Bellamy had left him, curiously watching every move Bellamy made as he disappeared up the stairs. Bellamy searched the two empty bedrooms in the cabin, one hand holding his gun, the other holding a clean dishrag he had snagged while in the kitchen against his throbbing wound, before making his way to his master bedroom. Throwing the door open, a shrill quick scream sounded as the inhabitant of the bed jumped at the sudden movement and screamed again seeing the gun Bellamy was holding on her. Bellamy’s suspicions about the naked woman in his cabin were confirmed as Bree dropped his top sheet covering her, holding her hands up, and exposing her bare chest._

_“Oh my God! Don’t shoot me!” She said, her voice reaching a new high pitch that made Bellamy’s ears want to bleed._

_“What are you doing here?” Bellamy growled menacingly, keeping his eyes firmly on her face, livid she had invaded his space the way she had. He was going to have to burn the whole damn bed now that she had contaminated it! And the shit just kept piling on…_

_“I-I just thought… I’m- You-… I mean…” She began stuttering all around the place, but not moving from the bed as all her clothes were strewn across the downstairs of the cabin and up the stairs as some sort of seduction ploy designed to lead him to her waiting in his bed. “I thought, I mean, I know you want me.” She said blushing._

_Removing his bloodied hand from the now soaked dishrag, Bellamy dropped the gun to his side and walked closer to the bed, snatching her upper arm and hauling her up from the bed, showing that while she had on no bra or other decent clothing she had kept her panties on. Rolling his eyes at this little girl who thought she’d come in here and seduce him with the snap of her little fingers, he began dragging her to the bedroom door and down the hall while she gasped and acted concerned about whether he was hurt or not and where, etc._

_Not answering the little hussy, Bellamy continued pulling her down the stairs, not bothering to slow down as she tried to snatch up the pieces of clothing she’d carelessly thrown everywhere… It was only upon seeing Stranger/Possible Assassin standing in the middle of the cabin living space did she start acting like she gave a damn about her modesty, and began to try to cover herself. As he continued to drag her to the front door, she began to struggle. “Wait! Stop! I can wait for him to leave, or he could join us… You know, if you’re into that.” She said, trying for coquettish, as Bellamy disgustedly wrenched the door open, pushing her out, even as she tried shoving her way back in._

_“Stop!” Bellamy growled fighting off her empty hands, as she had dropped the few clothes she’d managed to grab, while trying to simultaneously close the door. He was completely at the end of his wits with this girl._

_“I can’t!” She exclaimed dramatically, throwing her whole body at the door, making it practically impossible for Bellamy to get her out of his cabin. He was severely hindered in his efforts by his wounded side and his holding back, not wanting to hurt her… She was a wench, for sure, but her father was someone Bellamy respected. Well, Bellamy respected the man outside of his obvious lack of parenting skills if his daughter’s untoward behavior was any indicator. “Not when I know how much you want me.” She continued. “I know you tried to hide it that first night at dinner… It’s okay, I understand, my dad was right there and you were afraid of disrespecting him, but we can keep it a secret for now and tell him later.” She said taking on what was supposed to be a sweet understanding or hopeful voice, but only served to spike Bellamy’s ire further._

_Bellamy ripped the door back open quickly, so quickly in fact, she almost stumbled forward hard enough to fall on her face, if not for catching herself at the last minute. “Listen here you child.” Bellamy hissed leaning heavily on the door. “I wasn’t hiding anything. I was trying to be polite to my friend’s daughter, while simultaneously sending you ‘Back the hell off’ messages, which you obviously didn’t receive. I’m not attracted to you and never will be, so run along home to your father right this minute and thank your luck that you got out as unscathed as you did, because I specifically came up here not to be disturbed and bothered and probably would have killed you for disturbing and bothering me the way you have if the situation had been under different circumstances.”_

_While hearing his harsh words, Bree finally stumbled back far enough that Bellamy could fully close the door. Her eyes were large and her mouth was agape in obvious shock of things not going her way and completely misinterpreting the entire situation, how that could be a shock, Bellamy just didn’t know. He swore he’d been crystal clear. Before slamming the door in her surprised face, several articles of clothing were thrown out the door from between the space were Bellamy stood and the door jamb._

_Once the door was slammed closed, Bellamy locked and bolted it before turning, still leaning heavily on the door to stay upright, and raising a single eyebrow at Stranger/Possible Assassin/Wench Control Helper._

_Said stranger just shrugged a large shoulder, rasping deeply, “Bitches be crazy.” To which Bellamy couldn’t help but agree in this case with a single head nod._

_“Thanks for the help, I was just gonna let her shame walk home in whatever she had grabbed.” Bellamy mumbled as he passed him and headed for the kitchen again, goal being the medical box he had stashed under the sink._

_“Probably not a wise decision comrade… Not if you don’t want her showing up with an angry father.” Stranger/PA/WCH stated from the other room, not seeing Bellamy’s shrug. He didn’t care… Tristan would believe him before her anyhow. Tristian knew mostly why he was there, and the older man had a soft spot for him. He was in the clear._

_Walking back into the living room with the large red bag, Bellamy dropped it on the coffee table and set his gun next to it before exhaustedly dropping to the couch, not caring if he continued to get blood everywhere. His kitchen already looked like a damn crime scene, but his couch was very dark in color, so the blood probably wouldn’t noticeably stain. Probably. He’d just flip the cushions and hope for the best._

_After taking a deep breath, Bellamy moved to the edge of the couch and began easing his jacket off to get a better look at the wound. The stranger in his cabin who had been lurking behind him up to that point, moved into Bellamy’s line of sight, the gun still firmly grasped in his hand glinting dangerously in the firelight._

_Bellamy paused after removing his jacket, looking up at the rugged man, who was casually looking around… If he was an assassin, he was a pretty crappy one. Or was it crafty? Keeping his prey on edge, not knowing what he was going to do next ‘til he suddenly struck… Bellamy couldn’t decide which it was._

_“Listen buddy…” Bellamy spoke up capturing the man’s intense scrutinizing gaze, “If you’re here to kill me, let’s get on with it now before I go through the effort and pain of patching myself up, otherwise, I’m gonna get pissed.”_

_“I’m not here to kill you.” The man rumbled, rolling his ice blue eyes._

_“Could’ve fooled me.” Bellamy said back icily, with a pointed look at the gun in the other man’s hand._

_“Fair nuff.” He mumbled, stowing the weapon somewhere beneath all the furs. “Had to be prepared in case you were armed and ornery.”_

_“I’m always ornery, and just about always armed… Just didn’t figure I needed to be out here, when no one is supposed to know where I am. Obviously I was wrong about that. Now, on that subject, who are you and how did you find me?” Bellamy asked throwing a quick glare before tending to his wound again, hissing sharply at the pain lancing through his side when removing the bloodied dish rag that had mostly been held in place over his fresh wounds by his jacket. He’d need stitches, and to not pass out while putting those stitches in._

_“Roan. Roan Averin.” The man said casually, carefully moving closer to look at the wound. “That looks pretty nasty.” He said, stating the obvious of which Bellamy was painfully aware. Throwing the man a look, Bellamy grabbed the scissors from the top of the bag and cut the undershirt open to better get access to the wound, not having the strength to try lifting it off over his head. It was ruined already, why bother?_

_“Averin you say? As in Egor and Nia Averin of Russia? That would make you their son, if I’m following correctly… No accent though. And you’re sure you’re not here to kill me?” Bellamy inquired distractedly, digging through the kit for the sutures, finding them, and proceeding to look up to see a scowl flash across the stranger’s- Roan’s- face. “Hey, I haven’t started yet.” Bellamy warned holding up the bottle of saline and waving it threateningly, or as threateningly as possible. He’d take Roan out with him if the man reneged and tried to kill him after he’d gone through the trouble of sowing himself up._

_“They’re the parents who disowned me.” Roan said bitterly. “So yes, I’m sure I’m not here to kill you… That would help them too much. I’m here for the opposite exactly. I need your help.”_

_Bellamy barked out a genuine laugh. “My help? That’s a good one.” He said standing with much effort, still chuckling, and heading for the bottle of moonshine on the mantle before sitting back down, and looking up to see Roan with a solemn look on his face, watching the bleeding man with wary eyes. “Crap. You’re serious?” Bellamy asked, any trace of humor vanishing from his face, before pausing to pointedly look around at his surroundings. “You want my help?” Bellamy asked again for clarification. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not in any real place to help myself, much less someone who isn’t exactly an enemy, but isn’t exactly a friend either. Do you think I’m out here because everything is going A-Okay in my world?” Bellamy asked skeptically. Sure, people had always said he made things look easy (farthest thing from the actual truth), but he didn’t think he was making things look easy anymore, not where he was._

_“Yes, I’m here for your help.” Roan said firmly… Grudgingly. Roan obviously did not like asking for such a thing from Bellamy, probably just as much as Bellamy disliked hearing it being asked of him by Roan._

_“Okay, I don’t think your understanding me and the fact that I can’t help you right now because I have no way to help you right now, nor the incentive.” Bellamy said slightly exasperated, his wound all but forgotten for the moment._

_“Just hear me out.” The man said negotiating. “I’ll stitch you up and you listen while I do it… You don’t like what I have to say and offer, I leave. Simple as that.”_

_Bellamy narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but relented anyway… “Fine.” If the guy was gonna kill him, he would have done it already, right? And besides, stitching himself up while the room was semi-starting to spin wasn’t the best idea, right?_ Right. _His subconscious nodded affirmatively._

_Bellamy studied Roan cautiously as he shed his outer layer of fur and the plaid long sleeve shirt underneath leaving him in just a T-shirt, watching for any sign that the man was going to turn on him, pull a weapon and kill him. Not that Bellamy could do anything if he did, he was in a very precarious vulnerable position, wounded with his gun just out of reach on the little table, and he hated every minute of it… That, combined with the fact that he was giving some complete stranger crazy amounts of trust for only having just met him made Bellamy extremely uncomfortable. He was obviously out of his mind with blood loss. Pulling the cork from the bottle with his teeth, and blowing it to the floor, Bellamy took a deep pull from the burning liquid, hoping to dull the physical pain he was about to endure before laying down so his injured side was at the edge of the couch._

_After Roan pulled the coffee table closer and settled on it, he switched on the lamp above Bellamy’s head on the end table. He was going to have to burn that too after having been tainted by the witch._

_Roan chuckled, making Bellamy realize he’d said that out loud._ It was the truth though. _Bellamy thought shrugging slightly, before grimacing… No more shrugging. No more moving period. It all hurt too much._

_“She was already here, upstairs waiting for you when I got here by the way.” Roan said, his raspy voice loud in the quiet cabin. “I didn’t know if she was welcomed or not. Figured best not to interfere, in case she was welcomed.”_

_“Don’t remind me unless you want to start this conversation covered in vomit, because that’s where this is headed.” Bellamy warned. “You want to talk? Talk. Better get to work though, because between this,” he waved the bottle around marginally before taking a swig, “the blood loss, and the raging headache from the whole mess earlier, I can’t guarantee consciousness forever.”_

_“Keep your panties on Blake, I had to get stuff ready.” Roan replied, before swiping the alcohol bottle and quickly drenching his patient’s side in the clear liquid that made Bellamy feel like someone had just tossed a match on his side after dowsing it in rocket fuel. White hot agony engulfed him and had him breaking out in a cold sweat, a string of curses leaving his mouth that would make any sailor blush._

_“Sorry.” Roan said completely unapologetically, perhaps smug even, before taking a sip from the bottle, not even flinching at the taste and burn, before handing it back to a fuming Bellamy, who was ready to commit murder and surely would have if not for fear that his side would burn worst if he moved even a muscle._

_“I hate you.” Bellamy said between gritted teeth, but at the same time being a teeny bit grateful he had no forewarning of what the other man was about to do. It might’ve hurt even worst that way, if that was even possible._

_“Yeah, yeah.” Roan muttered, before cleaning the wounds with saline and beginning to carefully sow the mangled skin back together, “I won’t give you my whole sob story, just the facts… I’m the oldest son of two children, my younger sister’s name is Ontari, and she stole from me my birth right to become the next Pakhan after me father dies or chooses to retire. She, being the favorite child, set me up two years ago to take the fall for something I had no hand in like she did, and my parents believed her. Like I said, favorite child.” Roan said bitterly, continuing to diligently work on Bellamy’s side._

_“What’d she frame you for?” Bellamy asked, trying to focus on anything other than the agony rippling from his side, only to be met with silence. “Hey, you came to me for help… I need to know this.” Bellamy said side eyeing him._

_“She was sleeping with my second,” Roan said quietly still, so quietly, Bellamy almost missed it. If Bellamy hadn’t have known better, he might’ve said the man was embarrassed or ashamed. “Gaining access to sensitive information in the Brotherhood, and then turning around to feed it to a rival faction of the Bratva who wanted to replace our family as the ruling family. They promised to marry her to the next Pakhan in exchange for getting rid of me and our parents… Giving her all the ambitious power her dark twisted soul craves. She set me up to be the fall guy if any of this came to light, and that’s exactly what happened. A spy was caught and pointed me out as a snitch, and that was the beginning of the end of it all… I was promptly disowned and banished by my parents, and now must constantly be on the move because she’s got people hunting me as I’m the only one who can expose her, all the while she’s at home in the mother country, praised as a hero for supposedly crushing the uprising she had a hand in creating and exposing her brother as a traitor.”_

_“Damn.” Bellamy said. That all sounded like something Finn would do. Bellamy could sympathize with the Russian. “What do you want from me then?”_

_Roan stopped his ministrations to look Bellamy squarely in the eye as he spoke, “For two years I have lived out in the cold, and I want to go home. I want you to help me regain my birth right.” Before Bellamy could open his mouth to tell the man he was bonkers for thinking he could help anyone in his current situation, Roan cut him off. “I heard you earlier about not being able to help anyone… Truly, I did, but living the way I have these past two years, I’ve become a bit of a ghost, and I’ve studied you Bellamy Blake, especially in the last 6 months, which lead me to determine you were my only chance to get my life back. I know after that blow out with your old man, you’re leaving… There’s no way you’d stay with your girl marrying your half-brother.”_

_“How-” Bellamy trailed off confused. Had that become common knowledge in New York during his absence? I must have. But all Roan said was, “I have my ways.” Bellamy thought he was full of crap, but didn’t say anything._

_The other man continued talking. “I gotta tell you though. Your girl? Sure is a looker… Totally shocked me when you started seeing her. Not at all what I’d classify as your type, totally mine though. In the beginning, if I’d thought I had half a chance with her, I would’ve take it and her and fuck you over without a care in the world, but…” Roan said shrugging a bit offhandedly while digging through the medical bag before going back to finish the last few stitches that were needed._

_But the damage was done… Before the Roan could blink, Bellamy had moved to sit upright and was grasping fistfuls of his shirt, angrily spatting, “You stay the fuck away from her…”_

_“Whoa, whoa, whoa… Chill the hell out before you undo my perfect handiwork.” Roan said unperturbed, pushing Bellamy off him and back down on the couch, “Let me finish what I was saying hothead… **But** , even from a distance it was obvious she was crazy about you and I want back in too badly to lose out on that chance by pissing you off.” _

_Quickly checking that his stitches held, Roan resumed his work from before while Bellamy was still seething. All he could think was that he and Clarke never had a chance… Even from the very beginning people were plotting and searching for ways to tear her from him and vice versa._

_“So, you’re leaving your family and I’d assume you’re taking your crew with you…” Roan said talking again, purposely ignoring the glare being lasered into his skull by the man he was doctoring up. “Start up somewhere new if I had to guess. I must warn you, it’s a lonely place out here in the cold, and I’m not just talking about being in Alaska. Being on the metaphorical outs is a sucky place to be. Friends help with, well, everything. That’s where I come in. I know things… Many things. I’m a free agent here with contacts and resources at your disposal until you are on your feet, and then, when you are, you return the favor and get me my throne back. From there we create a very profitable business partnership that will be foraged in the blood of whomever stands in our way.” Roan finished, cutting the last stitch and dropping the scissors and needle on the table._

_Bellamy had to hand it to the man, albeit grudgingly, he had a very convincing speech and was dead on in his assumptions. After all, Bellamy hadn’t told a single soul of his plans, so there was no one that could have snitched about those. Bellamy paused a moment in careful contemplation before speaking. “You realize we are talking about years here before I am able to help you, right?” Bellamy asked carefully. “Minimum two, two and a half.”_

_Roan nodded slowly. “I’ve spent approximately that many years banished already… What’s that time plus some? Obviously, I can’t do this alone… No one wants to be seen speaking to a traitor much less openly supporting him for a power play. Believe me, I’ve tried alternative routes, and none have panned out as you can see.” He said motioning between them, and the fact that they were even talking. “So, that means I have to do it with you… Think of the time clock as incentive for me to ensure your success. You ultimately fail, I ultimately fail. You succeed, I succeed. You follow?”_

_Bellamy raised a single eyebrow, “And you’re just going to trust that as soon as I’m able, I’m going to keep my end of the bargain and help you?” Shaking his head at the notion, Bellamy scoffed, “I seriously doubt you’d put that kind of trust in me, someone you don’t know, who would be holding your future in his hands.”_

_“Your right, I don’t one hundred percent trust you just like you don’t me, but like I’ve said, I’ve watched you, and you seem to be a man of your word, as am I. Someone has to make the first move here, and this is me making it, right here, right now. You trust that I’m not screwing your right now at the beginning of this deal, and I trust that you won’t screw me at the end of it. What do you say?” Roan asked Bellamy, who wearily scrubbed his hand over his face._

_All Bellamy’s instincts were screaming NO and to stick with family, but it was his supposed family who had betrayed him in the first place, leading him to be here on this couch in the middle of nowhere, contemplating this Russian’s deal of ultimately joining forces to survive… Traitors to their original respective peoples, working together. It sounded just crazy enough to work. Bellamy was about to be on his own and would be expected to keep all his guys safe and alive while building an empire mostly from scratch, both legally and illegally. A so-called friend who had a certain wealth of information about various things wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world… But Bellamy had to be sure._

_“You say you know things… You’re obviously very capable of spying without being caught if you say you spied on me and I didn’t notice anything, and I’m sure you’ve made a massive number of unwilling friends by blackmail or using an old enemy of the Bratva as an ally like you’re doing now, because that’s the only way you could truly survive. I need proof though… That you’re as knowledgeable and connected as you say you are. I’ve already got enough working against me without having to carry dead weight and feed another mouth that brings nothing to the table in return.”_

_Roan looked Bellamy dead in the eye, searching for something, and both held the staring contest for a solid minute before Roan blinked and said, “You know that friends with benefits arrangement you had going on with that woman back in the city? Echo? She’s a spy put in place by my mother… Granddaughter of an old family friend whom is extremely loyal to the Brotherhood and the current family in power. She was ordered to report anything she heard or saw directly to Nia, and to work to gain your trust and affections, and any influence over you if possible. She’s a bit of a sleeper cell if you will… One call from Nia and you’re dead or distracted. Whatever she wants.”_

_Bellamy’s eyes widened marginally. He was not expecting that at all. Echo? Really? Well, it appeared he had been sucked in to that one, hook, line, and sinker. He could thank his grandmother and, Bellamy reluctantly admitted, Jake for the bullet he dodged on that one… Possibly literally, considering he cut ties with her the very night after he piss the Brotherhood off royally by catching them in their deceit. If he ever saw her face again, Bellamy was sure the rage and wrath would surface at having been played the way he had been, but at the moment he couldn’t bring himself to care about it… She had never gotten anything good from him information wise, and she hadn’t had the chance to do any real damage, thanks to his grandmother and her sage advice. Thinking it all over, Bellamy just wanted to finally pass out from alcohol and blood loss and let sweet, hopefully dreamless, oblivion take him for a few hours._

_After some moments pause, Bellamy looked up and locked eyes with the man sitting in front of him waiting for the answer that would determine his fate. “I accept your deal Roan Averin.” Bellamy said holding his arm from his uninjured side out in a show of partnership._

_Bellamy watched carefully as the other man’s face gave nothing away as he reached out to clasp Bellamy’s forearm, accepting the deal, as both men shook once… Roan’s eyes however spoke of a profound relief at finally having found an ally. It was then that Bellamy relaxed truly for the first time since entering the cabin and decided to trust the stranger, no easy feat, but attainable none the less. It was clear to Bellamy that Roan had been a little desperate to have this meeting go the way it had, culminating in both men agreeing to help one another in the obvious dark times they were currently facing, despite the other man hiding his worry extremely well… However, seeing the true relief hidden in the man’s eyes eased something in Bellamy. That couldn’t be faked. He really was on his own, and Bellamy did not doubt that he’d be loyal, if simply for the fact that he benefited from Bellamy’s prosperity._

_After releasing their grips, Roan moved to gather his belongings, donning his layers of protective gear, speaking, “I’ve gotta get moving as I’ve been here for too long… A week anywhere and I’ve got hell knocking on my door and scars to show for it.”_ Ah _, Bellamy thought,_ so that’s where the face scars came from… His sister was looking to have him tortured before killed. What a bitch.

_Bellamy moved to get up, struggling slightly, and wincing harshly as his side pulled. Roan moved to help pull him up from the sofa, Bellamy nodding his thanks after standing upright, the room only swirling a little, before asking, “Do you keep a cell phone, or is that too easy a way for her to track you?”_

_“Yeah, I got one.” Roan said, checking the knife in his boot and the one at his side, before zipping up his coat. “Changed out every time I move, so I’ll be getting a new one when I get to the next place I’m going.”_

_Bellamy nodded before directing him to grab the phone from under the couch where it had been stowed and forgotten about after last week’s fiasco, seeing as how Bellamy wasn’t in any condition to be stooped over hunting for it. Once the little black device was revealed, Bellamy took it and turned it on, confirming there was nothing from Wick, before handing it back to Roan so he could program their numbers, no names, into the phone. They’d at least have the basis for the phone chain they’d more than likely create from then on, with the constant changing of phones and thus numbers from both sides. Roan quickly called his own cell phone, and hung up after the first ring so he’d have Bellamy’s burner number._

_“I’ll call you every time I get a new number, and you do the same.” Roan said handing the phone back._

_Bellamy nodded and both men shook hands once more, before the other man left out the door with a promise to be in touch at a later unspecified date, unless something urgent came up in which case he’d call._

Snapping out of his memory, Bellamy took a deep breath and let it go. He hadn’t spoken to Roan since the week before when the other man had approached him about the deal and patched him up before disappearing. Bellamy checked the phone every day in case something came up and he called, but there had been no calls, not from Roan or Wick. No calls meant no bad news, which was perfect in Bellamy’s book.

Starting up the ATV, Bellamy made his way to the cabin, stopping to unload the wood on the front porch before parking the small vehicle in its spot. Grabbing his gun, Bellamy leisurely began approaching his cabin, faltering for only a second half way to the door before resuming his unhurried pace… His mind being clear and sharp this time around allowed for him to pick up on the alien set of tire tracks in the yard as well as the numerous sets of foot prints. He didn’t want his intruders alerted to his knowledge of their presence, so he continued walking as though nothing was amiss, all the while being pissed at Roan who had obviously betrayed him and sent a kill squad after him. Waiting ‘til he stepped on the porch, Bellamy reached around his back with both arms to load his gun and switch off the safety, making it seem as though he was tucking the gun away. Everything was dead quiet both from inside the cabin and outside… It was as though everything was holding its breath waiting to see what would happen. Bellamy paused for a moment before throwing the unlocked door open and holding his gun on the first of the intruders, who promptly yelped and ducked behind the second intruder, yelling “Don’t shoot! I’m innocent I swear.”

The heart pounding adrenaline and anger dissolved instantly upon recognizing that yelp. He’d definitely jinxed himself about being found if the five guys in his living area, two coming thundering down the stairs, and one appearing in the kitchen doorway were any indication. He’d been found all right. By the whole crew apparently. But how?

Dropping his gun to his side, Bellamy asked, “What did I tell you about surprising me?”

“Someone would probably get hurt or die.” Came Jasper’s muffled voice from behind Monty, who was standing stock still, just staring at Bellamy. He didn’t move or say anything. No one in the room moved until Bellamy saw another shadow appear in the door way of the kitchen and approach him. Bellamy warily, yet curiously, watched one Lincoln Griffin approach him, wondering why he was here and not in New York or Seattle. His answer was given seconds later when the large man punched him squarely in the jaw, snapping Bellamy’s head to the side.

“I told you not to break her heart even more than it already was… Which you did by the way, by cutting her out and disappearing. You obviously didn’t listen to my words. Your just lucky I like you enough not to break your face for hurting my little sister.” Lincoln said righting Bellamy, who nodded while rubbed his sore jaw. It would bruise, but it wasn’t anything he didn’t deserve. “Now,” Lincoln said, turning his back on Bellamy and walking away. “Where’s the liquor? And not that jet fuel you call moonshine… We’ve got some stuff to talk about before we leave, so sit your ass down Blake and get comfortable. It’s time for you to come to Jesus.”

Bellamy realized upon looking around at his guys moving to claim various spots in the room for this apparent intervention that his previous morning debate as to whether to stay or leave, finally landing on staying, was firmly quashed. It looked like ready or not, he was going back. Back to his father and uncle. Back to his plans of striking off on his own and abandoning the only life he’d ever really known. Back to his own personal hell of seeing the woman he loved, and not being with her. Back to the city. Back to New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you my readers, and hope you are still reading after all that. I just couldn't keep looking at it... I felt like I was going crazy. Soooo... RL is a bitch... Right?! I'm sorry for such a delay in posting, but between the grueling processes of the academic world (LSAT Prep, fee waivers, online class, etc.), looking into the military for a legal career, family drama (dad's job is the worst, depressed brother, whore cousins, alcoholic uncles who drink and drive, etc.) Life has not been a peach or conducive to writing. Add all that to my beta being away on her honeymoon, and I'm at my wits end. 
> 
> If you've got love to give, I'd appreciate it, but if not, totally understand... I'm not happy with it either. I'm just gonna keep writing however, and hope next chapter is better...
> 
> SPOILIES: You'll find out whats been going on in NY during Bellamy's absence all from Clarke's pov, as well as seeing his return... Oh yeah. Umm. The marriage contract will be broken and someone gets shot next chapter. Still on track for a reunion in Chapter 30. See ya!  
> -Redhead17x (Come find me on Tumblr under the same name!)


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